A Bleak and Gloomy Sun
by TalysAlankil
Summary: Nico is used to ghosts, as a son of Hades working as a medium. But even being used to ghosts doesn't mean finding one in your apartment, while you're showering, is a pleasant experience.
1. Chapter 1

Being the son of Hades meant Nico was used to ghosts barging in on him at awkward times. He wasn't nicknamed the Ghost Prince for nothing, after all. But still, every time another one showed up, he couldn't help but wonder why he couldn't have traded with Bianca. She could _banish_ the restless dead instead of attracting them to her. Or he could have at least inherited Hazel's geokinesis. Either ability would have been preferable.

He never wished that as badly as when a ghost showed up in his own home. In his bathroom, to be exact. When he was showering.

To be fair to the ghosts, Nico was expecting him. He'd just moved in, and picked the apartment because the rent was impossibly low. It hadn't taken long to find out about a previous tenant's mysterious and gruesome death, one month before. Which, upon further inspection, had looked suspiciously supernatural. It had been part of the appeal of choosing this apartment, really.

But there was a difference between expecting a ghost and bumping into him—or, well, _through_ him—on the way out of the shower. In surprise, Nico tripped and face-planted into the tiles. At least he hadn't knocked himself unconscious in the process, but his nose was bleeding when he stumbled back on his feet and groped for a towel. Holding it with one hand as the other tried to stop the bleeding was particularly awkward.

"Ow. Did no one teach you ghost etiquette? Melinoe will hear me." It was pure bluff—Nico would never come close to Melinoe if he could avoid it—but he liked to pretend he was closer to the gods as he really was when dealing with a new ghost.

It didn't seem to faze this one, though. "Sorry. Couldn't resist taking a peek."

Nico felt himself blush, which wouldn't help with his attempts at building a 'tough guy' façade. "Well, hope you've enjoyed it. Now, get out."

The ghost didn't move or fade, and only grinned at Nico, who looked him up and down, curious. He was in his early twenties, about the same age as Nico, maybe a year older or so. He was taller than Nico, one of those guys Nico would have complained about being 'freakishly tall' before he'd hit an unexpectedly late growth spurt a couple of years ago—and even now, the ghost still had a few inches on him. His body was all in lean, strong lines, and his skin was tanned, the kind that showed he spent a lot of time outside in the sun, and his hair would have been golden if he hadn't been the faded colors of a ghost—that was something Nico had learned to guess with experience, a ghost's real colors.

Speaking of colors, his clothes were too bright for Nico's taste, even faded as they were. He only wore a too-short yellow t-shit that didn't even reach down to his navel, with an inscription that read 'Daddy's favorite haiku', and azure blue—no, bright cyan—swimming trunks that hung low and loosely on his hips and reached almost to his knees.

The inscription in particular was what woke Nico's suspicion, but before he could voice them, the ghost spoke. "Like what you see?"

Nico scoffed. "I'm too blinded by the colors to notice anything else." Not entirely true, of course. "You have _terrible_ fashion sense. And speaking of which, are you _ever_ going to let me get dressed?" He was still awfully conscious of only having a towel held with one hand to cover himself.

"Sure. But we have to talk." He vanished before Nico could retort anything.

* * *

Their next encounter happened at night that day, while Nico was huddled up on his couch, mindlessly watching some awful talk show on TV to pass the time. Something that happened way too often of late, but that was the only way he'd found of getting his mind off the most upsetting parts of his job as a medium. Having to tell someone that their departed daughter only regretted not killing the rest of her family in the fire was not the easiest thing to live through, especially when he had to deal with their reaction all while sending the ghost on her way to the Underworld. But hey, that was a rare occurrence. All jobs had their ups and downs, Nico guessed.

In his daze, it took him a while to register the ghost sitting next to him, and he started when he did. It was the same boy who had shown up in his bathroom, and he seemed absorbed in the television program—but his smirk and the insistence with which he _didn't_ look at Nico was enough to know it was just pretend.

"You could warn me when you're there," Nico said. Normally he was aware of ghosts around him as clearly as he was of his own limbs, but this one had eluded him both times. His pride would suffer from the admission, but he'd rather set boundaries as fast as possible. "What do you want?"

The ghost flashed a radiant smile and finally turned to Nico. "Has anyone told you you had terrible manners?"

"Says the guy who snuck up on me in the shower."

"_Touché_. Although it wasn't completely intentional. I died there, you see." His smile wavered at the word 'died', although the seriousness clashed with his clothes, the same from before. "Usually people introduce each other when they first meet."

"Usually, people freak out when they see a ghost and call an exorcist." Like Bianca, for instance. Or Nico, if Bianca was busy and she thought the ghost could be reasoned with. "As I said, what do you want?"

The ghost ignored his question. "I'm Will Solace. I used to live here until a month ago, when I died. Aren't you curious to find out how? Let's make a trade. You tell me why you're not freaked out by me, and I'll tell you."

Nico stared at him. "Don't pretend. You're like me. A demigod." With a pointed look at the shirt's inscription, he added, "Son of Apollo, if I were to guess. Or one of his groupie, maybe." He wasn't sure which option was worse.

Will's expression was one of surprise, though. "But… I know all of my half-siblings. You can't— and what do you mean, 'son of Apollo'? Is there—"

Nico mentally cursed the policy of isolationism some of the Olympians had opted for. "It never occurred to you some of your dad's relatives might be just as real and active as he was?" Nico hadn't met many demigods except for his own siblings, like most demigods, but at least his father had told him they were _out there_.

"I—thought about it. So—who's your…parent?"

"Hades."

"Yeesh. Okay, I get why ghosts don't scare you, then."

_You have no idea_ was on the tip of Nico's tongue, but he wasn't interested enough in the guy to risk having to bring up the worst parts of his job. So, instead, he repeated, "What do you want, Will Solace?"

"I—don't know, actually. It's the first time someone asks me since I'm dead."

"You said we had to talk."

Will froze, and his gaze grew distant. "I— yeah, I did say that! It's not safe here, you should—"

"Leave?"

"No, I was just going to say 'be careful'."

"Care to elaborate?"

"I—can't."

Nico sighed. A month had passed already—of course some of Will's memories would be scrambled at this point. Lots of ghosts forgot about their own deaths as a coping mechanism, unless they were trying to avenge it. "Okay. Well, thanks for the warning, I guess." He'd thought his tone was unequivocal, but Will didn't seem to understand the underlying 'please leave'.

"You're welcome. So… do you really like this thing?" he asked, nodding at the television.

"No. But I do like my privacy."

Will turned to stare at him in surprise mixed with hurt, and dissolved into mist.


	2. Chapter 2

Nico told Hazel about the ghost haunting his apartment the next day when they met in a café. She'd just come back home in New Orleans after an archaeological expedition, and already someone had contracted her to help with expanding some city's subway all the way in Europe, so they only had a few days together. There was always work for demigods and their particular talent. As long as they stuck to their father's network of clients, they could do it and keep a low profile. It was always better than getting a regular job and trying to be human all the time. With the risk of monster attacks, that rarely ended well.

"Another demigod?" Hazel let out. "Shame that he's dead. I always wondered what they would be like."

"You could still talk to him. I don't know why you'd want to, but if you're curious. I'm sure he wouldn't mind." By that, of course, Nico meant Will didn't have much of a choice. It was his apartment, haunted or not, and he'd bring his sister home if he wanted to.

"I'll think about it. It could be fun. Do you think he'd give away some of Apollo's secrets?" Noticing Nico's dubious expression, she chuckled. "Yeah, probably not. I wouldn't do it to Dad either. Still, do you think it's a coincidence he lived in New Orleans?"

The city was one of the places where Hades's demigod kids were raised and trained for most of their lives. Nico _had_ wondered himself if Will had ended up here by accident—he knew _he_ wouldn't have gone in another god's territory. "Could be. He didn't seem to know about the other Olympians at all."

"What if his dad was plotting something? Send him in as an unwitting spy?"

Nico shrugged. "The less involved I am with it, the better. Let the Olympians play their game of politics."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Hazel sighed, her gaze lost in the distance. The last time they'd gotten involved in Olympian politics, Nico and Bianca's mother had died. Abruptly, she turned back to Nico, a wide grin on her face. "So you were naked when you first met him? Do you think that was intentional?"

"He said he 'couldn't resist taking a peek'," Nico blurted out, before he realized the implications of it.

Hazel giggled like a schoolgirl, but her smile had no innocence to it. "You made an impression, then. Is he hot?"

"He's a _ghost_."

"If ghosts can become corporeal enough to take revenge on their murderer, I'm sure he could—"

"Hazel!" Nico's cheeks felt like they were on fire.

She laughed again. "Sorry. But judging by your face, I'm sure you've _thought_ of it."

Nico groaned. "He _is_ hot. Although he has terrible fashion sense. And, as I said, _he's a ghost_. I'm not _that_ desperate for a boyfriend."

"So what are you going to do about him?"

Nico shrugged. "My job, I guess. Find out why he's still there, and make sure he doesn't stay. I'll just have to do it for myself instead of a client. He doesn't remember how he died. I'm sure if I figure it out, he'll be gone."

"Okay. Need a hand with it? Bianca's still in LA, isn't she? I can help, if you want."

"I'll be fine. But if you want to come over and meet him, my offer still stands."

"Maybe tomorrow," Hazel said, rubbing her temples. "I'm still jet-lagged. I really wanted to see you, but as soon as we're done here I'm going straight to bed."

Nico couldn't help but mentally face-palm at his lack of empathy towards her. "I'm so sorry I didn't think about it. And we barely even talked about your trip!"

Hazel scoffed. "Trust me, prehistoric caverns aren't all they're cracked up to be, once you've seen dozens of them. This was much more entertaining." She raised a suggestive eyebrow as she stood up, but her smile was candid, devoid of teasing. "Come on, big brother, let's go."

* * *

If Hazel was going straight to bed, Nico couldn't say the same. He'd had an entire afternoon to go through first, serving as intermediate between a deceased father and his beloved—and numerous—children. They were from several different mothers, and none of them agreed on the way to interpret his will, so they'd called Nico for help. Why anyone trusted his word was beyond him, but they did. He didn't like the way the ghost had spoken of his mistresses, and he may have taken some liberties with the man's instructions for the sake of fairness, but in the end he was happy with his work, if exhausted.

So when he came back home to the smell of boiling frying oil and aromatic herbs, he was torn between panicking and being too tired to bother. He summoned his sword from the shadows cast by his entrance door, and walked towards the kitchen…only to be greeted by a smiling Will.

His smile vanished quickly at the sight of the blade, though. "Is that really necessary?" Will had found an apron somewhere, unless he'd conjured it, since ghosts could change clothes at will, even if few of them knew it. For a brief moment, Nico had the impression that he was naked underneath, but he was still wearing the same swimming trunks as they day before—although his t-shirt was nowhere in sight.

"I could ask you the same," Nico said, slowly sheathing the sword. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Making dinner? I thought that was obvious."

"Okay, let me rephrase that. Why are you doing this? Ghosts don't it. Ghosts _can't_ eat." Even when they got corporeal, Nico had never seen a ghost manage to do something as inherently tied to life as eating. Food just fell through their jaws, every single time.

"Yeah, I found that out earlier today. Sorry about your sofa, by the way." Nico cast a glance behind him, but of course the sofa was out of sight—and it was probably for the best. "Anyway, I'm doing this for you. I thought it'd be nice. I'm squatting here, after all."

The sizzling of fat intensified behind him, and Will turned brusquely to take care of whatever was in the pan—Nico couldn't see it. This suddenly made Nico realize that Will wasn't just corporeal enough to cook, he was _opaque_. He stared in shock, and of course his brain lingered on the lean muscles of his back, like a surfer's. Knowing Apollo, his son might very well _be_ a surfer. And, hideously bright as they were, Nico had to concede the swimming trunks clung very nicely to the shape of his—

"Oh! by the way," Will said, turning around and interrupting Nico's stream of less-than-respectable thoughts, "how do you like your steak?"

Nico blinked and stared in confused silence.

"You know, how do you like it cooked."

"Oh. Um. Whatever, I guess." Seeing Will's insistent look, he forced his brain to start working again. "Well done?"

Will had a disapproving grimace, but nodded. "You got it. How about you just go relax? It'll only be a few minutes."

Nico opened his mouth to retort, but Will turned back to the stove again, and…well, Nico would _not_ stare at his back again. So he exited the kitchen, hovering towards the television. He couldn't exactly relax, though—not after seeing the dried-up mess of milk and cereals that cluttered his sofa. At least it wasn't the couch he sat on most of the time, but still.

"If he can cook, why couldn't he clean up?" he grumbled as he picked most of it up in a paper towel to throw it away. The stains would be harder to get rid of—might be irrecuperable. And it gave off a faint scent of milk, which would probably get worse over time. Maybe he should just dispose of it before it did.

But he couldn't do it immediately, of course, since Will came out of the kitchen. "Come on, dinner's ready!"

Frustrated sigh aside, Nico was hungry and it had been a while since he hadn't eaten anything that wasn't take-out or microwaveable. He couldn't resist the steak and homemade fries—even the smell of them was appetizing enough. Although he had to wonder where and how Will had gotten his ingredients. But that could wait.

Will sat across from him at his small table, observing Nico as he ate. There was something a little off-putting about it—and it was a little too _Twilight_ for Nico's taste—but the food _was_ really good, and he found he was starving.

"Do you like it? I picked that up from my mom. I doubt dad thinks cooking is cool enough for us to know. I'm told I'm really great at it."

In spite of the boat, there was an uncertainty to his voice, and that more than anything got Nico to answer honestly. "It's delicious. Well…it was."

"Thanks." Will smirked. "So… now will you tell me your name?" Nico frowned, and he added, "You never told me."

Second mental face-palm of the day. "I didn't mean to. Usually I try to learn about the ghosts I deal with so I can send them—they aren't interested in me. It's Nico. Nico di Angelo."

"Lovely name. Italian?"

Nico smirked. "Somewhere high up in the family tree, yes, probably. Not for generations."

Will nodded thoughtfully—although why, Nico wasn't sure. "So when you say you send ghosts back—"

"It's my job. Well, sort of—it's part of it. I'm a medium."

Will's impressed look felt out of place, but it looked genuine. "Cool. I'm starting to see why you weren't that freaked out by me." After a pause, he added, "Does that mean you'll send me too? And…where?"

"The Underworld. Where you should be. And—yes." Nico wasn't sure why he hesitated.

"How?"

"I find out why you're still here. Solve your unfinished business, pass on your last words. That sort of thing." Seeing how present Will was, Nico doubted it would be anything that simple, but the principle was the same.

"Oh. I see. I just—"

"You're not sure you want to be sent to the Underworld."

Will looked up, surprised. "How do you—"

"Nobody wants to," Nico said with a shrug.

"Of course. Well…how do we start?"

"You wait for me to have a day off. I'm not dealing with more than one ghost per day."

"Why? Do you have a quota, or a limitation, or something?"

Nico stared at him. "No, I'm just _tired_ after dealing with a ghost."

Will grimaced. "Sorry."

"I didn't mean—" Nico paused, frustrated. "Talking to ghosts is fine. It's not like that requires any use of my powers. But when you have to basically fix a ghost's entire life, and preferably in a limited time, with them yapping at you that you're not doing it just right—you get the idea. And sometimes I have to help them on the way to the Underworld. _That_ takes a lot of power."

He was surprised to see that Will had held on to his every word, and smiled when he was done. "Okay. No fixing my life tonight, then. How about we just hang out? We could do something! Do you like video games? I hope I can still play."

Nico raised his eyebrows, in equal parts surprised and skeptical. Will wanted to _hang out_? If his biggest regret in life was not experiencing a 'true bromance', this was _not_ a sending Nico looked forward to. "I guess I owe you for making dinner. And yes, I like video games. Who doesn't?" It might even be better than a mindless talk show.


	3. Chapter 3

"Your life is kind of empty," was Will's way of greeting Nico the next morning.

Nico was already grumpy at being woken up by a client calling him, and this wasn't improving his mood. "I beg you pardon?"

"No need to beg," Will teased. "I may have Facebook-stalked you. Which is kind of your own fault for leaving your laptop logged in without any protection."

Annoyance was slowly giving way to anger. "There's usually no one to go through my laptop in my sleep. And don't blame _me_ because you couldn't respect boundaries."

"Yeah, but that's my point. There's _no one_ who comes here. Ever. It's sad."

"My sisters visit me all the time. And I'm sorry my life doesn't meet your standards of quality. I like it as it is."

"Do you?"

His question may have been rhetorical, but it gave Nico pause. Did he like his life? It was comfortable, with more than enough excitement. "I guess."

"You've never wanted for someone to share it with?"

Great, the ghost was starting to sound like Hazel now. "If you find a guy who wants to date a medium, be sure to let me know." He wasn't sure why he'd let out the implication that he was gay—maybe as an attempt to shock Will?

It failed miserably. "I would date a medium. And I would tap that ass, too. I've seen it, remember?"

His grin was met with Nico's glare, which quickly turned into a full-blown, patented Death Kid Glare. It was only when Will stumbled backwards through the stained sofa that Nico stopped. "Don't remind me of that."

"Too forward? Sorry. I mean, I'm dead, I'm not expecting— I was just trying to boost your ego." Will's puppy dog eyes were a little too irresistible for Nico's good.

"I don't need an 'ego boost'. I need my apartment to myself. And I can't, because there's a ghost I can't deal with until I have a day off, and I can't just _take_ one because I am still a member of the living who needs to _make_ a living."

"What, your dad doesn't provide? Isn't he also the god of wealth?"

Nico paused in his rambling. Hazel had suggested to use her powers to give Bianca and Nico a source of income, but he'd always refused it before. He'd never even _considered_ asking his dad. Maybe it was foolish of him—but having that foolishness pointed out to him by this ghost was the last thing Nico wanted right now. "That is none of your concern."

"It's just—Apollo used to help us financially. Sorry if I struck a nerve. Or how about your mom?"

That was one thing too many for Nico to bear. "How about you don't speak to me? Preferably ever again? Find your own way to the Underworld. Most people do."

* * *

He came home early, this time. Helping young children was always heartbreaking—because, well, they were small children—but it also tended to be an easier job. They needed guidance, not convincing. The boy he'd sent to the other side this time had reminded him so much of himself at the same age he'd almost burst into tears. Especially when his little sister asked him if he was her brother from the future.

That was hardly a worthy price to pay for coming home by noon on a normal day. And it definitely _wasn't_ when coming home meant having to deal with _another_ ghost. He wondered what Will had been up to this time.

But there was nothing. No disaster waiting for Nico to clean up, no sarcasm. No dinner cooking, either. Nico still didn't know where Will had gotten the ingredients the night before—or how he'd known when to start cooking.

In fact, there was no trace of Will himself. Had he really found his way to the other side? Nico knew he had the ability to force a ghost to move on—and, on one occasion, he'd even forced a living person's spirit to go straight to the Underworld—but it drained him more than any of his other talents.

Well, whatever it was, Will was seemingly gone. It was odd, considering how strong his presence had been in the world of the living, but not to the point where Nico would dwell on it. He was a demigod—odd was nothing out of the ordinary to him. Sometimes he wondered if the supernatural world really had any defined rules at all.

* * *

The rest of the week was unusually busy. On top of his job, which took at least half of each day, meeting Hazel while he could, Nico suddenly had to deal with three monster attacks in the span of a few days. None of them had even targeted him or Hazel directly, which was odd enough as it was; they'd always been surprised to find demigods fighting back.

Five of the ghosts he had to work with were actually victims of two of those monsters—the third had just arrived in New Orleans when Nico found it, and Nico doubted it had killed anyone yet. Even more surprising, two of those victims were demigods—just like Will. Hazel, who had never gotten the opportunity to speak to Will after his disappearance, was delighted to come as quickly as possible when Nico met the second one, a girl named Drew Tanaka, a daughter of Aphrodite. The girl did little to appease their curiosity, though, and moved on relatively quickly—which was even weirder, considering the trouble Nico usually had to go through.

Those demigods couldn't be a coincidence, though. Three, from three different parents, coming to New Orleans, one of Hades's stronghold, in the span of a week? And they all died, too? There had to be _something_ here.

Bianca came back at the end of the week—a couple days too late to see Hazel and complete their small family, but still good to have around. Nico wasted no time and immediately told her about the demigods and the influx of monsters.

"That's why I came home early," she said.

"So you know what's going on?"

"Not exactly. But something _is_ going on, that much is certain. There's no more monsters in Los Angeles, they all…_left_. It's like they're focusing on a single place."

"What, they're laying siege to New Orleans?"

"Possibly, yes. Each of Hades's stronghold has a door to the Underworld, right? Maybe someone is directing them to take control of a door."

"And you think the other gods are sending their kids to stop them? Because none of the three I met seemed to know anything. Apollo's son didn't even know about other _gods_. And I hope Dad would have warned me if my home city was attacked."

Bianca sighed. "I don't know. Maybe it's more of an instinctual thing, like they're drawn to the monsters in the area? There's so much we don't know. But something's happening, and I'm sure we can deal with it together."

"Yeah." With Bianca by his side, Nico felt confident he could deal with anything. "You're right."

* * *

He came home unusually late that night, after spending the entire evening with Bianca. He missed his sister more than he could ever tell her, so staying with her was the least he could do. But her apartment didn't have room for the two of them—any more than his did—and Nico wasn't keen on sleeping on the couch, especially if there was going to be more and more monsters to deal with.

Half-dazed with sleep already, he made a beeline to the kitchen to grab a bite—some of those industrial cakes that were objectively terrible but so convenient when he was hungry and tired, which was often—then straight to the bathroom before heading to bed.

He was barely done with brushing his teeth when a faint clicking came from outside the door, followed by a voice calling out. "Look out!"

Before a more precise warning could follow, the door was torn off its hinges and thrown straight at Nico, sending him flying against the wall. Stunned, he still managed to push the door off himself, and take in the sight of its attacker: a giant spider, one of Arachne's children.

Nico wouldn't be able to fight off the monster without some serious advantage, especially since he was unarmed and tired. He scrambled to his feet and jumped on the sink as the monster struggled with the small doorframe; just as it was in the room, Nico managed to tear the lamp off the ceiling, plunging the room in the dark. Nico had no idea if spiders could see in the dark, but he didn't care—shadows were _his_ realm. He heard the spider coming towards him, but before it could reach him, Nico had already vanished.

He reformed in his living room, crouching behind the couch, his sword materializing in his hand from the shadows. He'd arranged the furniture to make sure there were always a few shadows in the place, no matter if it was day outside or if he turned on all the lights—something he was rather proud of, and now, very grateful for.

The source of the voice who had alerted him was nowhere to be seen, but Nico couldn't worry about that right now. The spider was already out of the bathroom, and it leaped at him at blinding speed. Nico was forced to shadow-walk again, reappearing behind the kitchen counter. Maybe the smart move would be to appear at Bianca's place, but she was probably asleep, and leaving would mean letting the monster go after other people—mortals. He couldn't do that.

From his position, he easily reached the switch to turn off all the lights in his apartment, giving him a greater freedom of movement. The noise immediately alerted the monster, but Nico was ready now, and as the spider leaped into the air, Nico vanished again, re-forming in the air right below the monster. He landed on the spider's abdomen, sword first, and it tore into the flesh with a disgusting yet satisfying sound. He jumped off immediately, hacking to both sides and cutting off two of its legs from the back. He knew it wouldn't do much to stop the creature, but he'd take any advantage he could.

The monster reared back, and turned around in record speed, way too close for comfort—Nico could see faint light reflecting off its eight eyes. It lunged forward, and Nico couldn't shadow-travel on time before the creature laid a leg on him, pinning him down with unfair ease. Nico hacked at the limb, rolled to avoid the spider's stinger coming down, and vanished once again in the shadows. He appeared right next to it, and hacked the three remaining legs on that side.

Finally, the spider stumbled and fell, but even then, it tried to drag itself with its remaining two legs, pushing and pulling to move across the floor. Nico stabbed it through the head, and then, for good measure, dragged its blade through the spider's abdomen, cutting it lengthwise. It thrashed for a few more seconds, before finally vanishing in golden particles of dust.

Panting, Nico stood still for a moment. He'd shadow-stepped… three, four times? Five? He'd lost count. Even on short distances, this was _way_ too much, especially in his current state. The sword clattered as it fell to the floor, but Nico wasn't aware of letting go. Moments later, he fell to the floor as well, landing on his back and hitting his head.

Semi-conscious, he thought he saw a face staring at him—blurred, with blue eyes and golden hair, vaguely familiar. Sound reached him, but his brain couldn't process the words. He tried to push himself off the floor, but his hand couldn't find the ground—they just passed through it. "'M fading," he muttered, unsure if there really was someone or if he was imagining it.

Consciousness slipped from Nico, and the shadows closed around him.


	4. Chapter 4

"Come back, come back, come back…"

The words were looping in Nico's ears, and it took him a while to realize it was someone saying them, over and over, in a worried tone, almost pleading. Light hit his closed eyelids—sunlight, judging by the warmth that came with it—and the voice kept going. Someone was holding his hands, a little too tightly—almost painfully so.

"Ow," he said, more as a reflex than anything. He tried opening his eyes, but the light blinded him, adding to the overall pain he felt, and he closed them shut again.

"You're awake!"

Nico recognized the voice at last. It had belonged to a ghost Nico had thought was gone, but he'd heard it again when the spider attacked.

That thought brought back memories, and with them, curiosity. "I should be dead," he said. He'd felt he was fading, and known what it meant. He'd drawn too strongly on the Underworld's power, and was returning to it. Dying—fading. Bianca and Hazel wouldn't even have known he was gone until they tried to call on his shade.

But there was no sunlight to sear people's eyes in the Underworld, so obviously that hadn't happened. He forced his eyes open, blinking rapidly to accommodate to the light.

"Hi there." There was a half-smile on Will's face, concern, worry and relief mixed together. There was also something else, something Nico couldn't quite place—the ghost was jittery, and in spite of his hands still clutching to Nico's, he seemed to be trying to keep away.

Nico was lying on his couch; he took his time sitting up and settling comfortably. Will seemed unwilling to let go of his hands, so it was a little more difficult than it should be, but Nico couldn't bring himself to ask him to let go. The contact was comforting, anchoring him to life—which was probably odd considering Will was a ghost. "What happened?" he finally said.

"The spider was what killed me, I think. It came back for you, and— well, you already know what happened. Dude, that was amazing—"

"Yeah, I know all that. But then what? I was _fading_."

"I _know_. That was _scary_. But I've always been a good healer. You could say it's my one talent. And I think holding you worked too, somehow?"

It_ was_ working, as far as Nico could feel. Which was a little weird to think about, since Will was a ghost. "Thanks."

Will's smile grew less hesitant. "You're welcome. Although you shouldn't use those fancy powers for a while. Doctor's orders." He took a deep breath, then added, "You and I, we kind of started on the wrong foot, didn't we? I'm sorry. I've been an arrogant jerk."

"Arrogance kind of runs in the family, I think. I've met your dad, once, you know."

Surprisingly, Will didn't take Nico's bait; instead, he had a hopeful look at Nico's words. "Can we start over?"

Nico smiled back at him. "I'd love to."

Will held out a hand. "I'm Will. I died here, and you avenged me last night. Mind if I haunt the place for a while? I can't pay rent, but if I can bring you back from the brink of death again, it'll be my pleasure." With a grimace, he added, "Not that I _want_ you to nearly die, of course. Man, this is awkward."

Nico couldn't suppress a chuckle. "Nice to meet you. I deal with ghosts all the time, which makes me tired and a little grumpy _most_ of the time. Also—" he looked down at himself, "I'm covered in monster blood right now. Do you mind if I go get a shower and get changed? _Without_ barging in on me?"

"I'm not making any promises. I mean, there is no door."

Nico glared at him, but there was a spark in Will's eyes—one that inspired trust. One that Nico was hoping he identified properly.

* * *

Nico emerged from the bathroom feeling somewhat refreshed, but at least he was clean now, and wearing fresh clothes. Will looked at him expectantly from the couch.

"You look human again."

Nico ignored the quip. "There's something I don't get," Nico started. "Where were you the past week?"

Will's expression grew regretful. "I thought you didn't want to see me anymore." So it had been intentional, then. The fact that he could become invisible to Nico's perception was nothing new, but the ability kept surprising him nonetheless. Maybe it was a demigod thing; the other two had also been difficult for Nico to sense.

"So that spider is what killed you?"

"Yeah. The memory came back when I saw it. You should go check the attic in this house—I think that's where it came from. I hope she doesn't have a nest."

"I will. But—I don't understand." Will stared at him, intrigued, and Nico continued. "Since you couldn't remember how you died exactly, I thought that was your unfinished business. It happens a lot. But now I killed the spider, and you're still here. So…what is it, then?"

An uncomfortable grimace hovered over his face, and he seemed to squirm, though not physically; it was as if his essence was wavering away from the visible realm. "Well…"

"Well what? What is it?"

"There was a…kind of a gateway. After the spider died. It wasn't a literal door, but, you know, a passage I could _sense_ more than see. But you were dying, I couldn't leave you there."

Nico stared at him, speechless at what Will had just said. "That was the way to the Underworld."

"I gathered."

"And you just _ignored_ it?"

"You needed help! Your hands were slipping to the floor, but when I took them, suddenly they were solid again! I couldn't just _leave_!"

"But—Will, it might never show up again. You might be trapped here forever."

Will stared—this was apparently news to him—but he quickly regained composure, and with it, a bright smile. "Worth it."

"This is serious—"

"You're right, it is. You could have died. _I'm_ already dead. Whatever happens…"

"You could become a restless spirit—a monster of your own," Nico said. Why was his voice breaking at this? He shouldn't be so emotional over this. "Even if you don't, I'm not worth eternally wandering the mortal realm as a ghost."

"You really think so?"

Nico opened his mouth to protest, but before he could, Will crept across the couch, pressing their legs together. The sudden contact cut off the flow of Nico's thoughts as warmth flooded his body. It was more than Will's body—and how was a ghost so warm?—but the intensity in his eyes, the pain at Nico's self-deprecation and something else, that spark Nico had just seen moments before.

Mesmerized by Will's gaze, Nico was barely aware that he was still moving until one of his hand was brushing up hesitantly against Nico's cheek. Until Will bent closer, and sealed their lips together.

His kiss was a little awkward, especially considering their position, and it held more passion than skill—hesitant, almost exploring, in a way Nico hadn't been kissed in _years_. But _Gods_, there was passion in the urgency with which Will pressed himself against him, and Nico succumbed to it, letting him closer, letting him in. It had been a while since he'd been kissed, and he was fairly sure none of his exes had ever kissed him like _that_.

When Will pulled away—only slightly, reluctantly—they were both out of breath. _A ghost out of breath, now that's a funny image_. "As I said, it was worth it. I don't care about the consequences."

In any other circumstances—if they hadn't been so _close_, if Nico's nerves hadn't all been tingling—he might have laughed at his brashness. Instead, he was speechless, and he hated that. So he did the first thing that crossed his mind, hooked a hand in Will's hair and pulled him closer for another kiss.

This time, he took control, guiding Will's lips and tongue with his, and guiding Will's body with his hands and legs as he settled more comfortably on the couch, with the other boy on top of him. He was responsive to every touch, every hint of movement; pliant under Nico's wordless commands; moving with enthusiasm restrained only by nervousness; and Nico loved it all.

There were stars in Will's eyes when they parted again, his smile radiant even as Nico's hand moved caressed his back and elicited a visible shiver through his entire body. Breathlessly, he said, "That went well." Nico chuckled as Will caught his breath, and added, "Please tell me I didn't fuck up _too_ much."

"You didn't fuck up." Nico kept his gaze locked with Will's, deciphering layer after layer of emotion. "That was your first kiss, wasn't it?"

"That obvious?" He paused, as if expecting a mockery, but Nico knew better than to press on someone's insecurities. "Yeah. And I'm dead. How ridiculous is that?"

"It's not," Nico said, reaching a hand to cup Will's face. "It's kind of cute."

"So… now what?"

Nico was tempted to say 'bedroom, now', but Will's hesitation made him reconsider. If that was his first kiss, then he might not be ready to have sex just yet. And Nico wasn't _desperate_ to get laid, no matter what Hazel might say. "How about you get off me? Some of us need to eat."

"Right. Sorry." Will pushed himself to his feet, and offered Nico his hand to get up too—which Nico took, after a moment of hesitation which he hoped Will hadn't noticed. "I can make you something, if you want?"

"I—" Nico glanced at the damage the spider's leaps had caused to the kitchen, then at the clock. "Do you know if you can leave the apartment?"

"Yeah. It's not easy, but I can."

"We could have lunch somewhere. Together, I mean. Unless it's too difficult, I don't want to—"

"No, that's fine." Will's eyes were shining at the offer—maybe an exaggerated response, but Nico supposed a dead person had every right to be emotional.

_Gods, he's dead, and I kissed him. And now I'm taking him out for lunch_. Odd might be a regular occurrence for a demigod, but this was still out of the ordinary. But he was the Ghost Prince, so maybe it was fitting for him to go on a date with a ghost.


	5. Chapter 5

Nico wasn't entirely sure yet whether he was flattered or creeped out by the way Will was staring at him adoringly as he ate lunch with him—instead of having lunch together, since Will couldn't eat. Both, perhaps.

"Tell me about you," Will said.

"I thought you already knew all about me by stalking my Facebook?" Nico teased. He sneaked a look around as he did—nobody seemed curious that he was talking to himself. Good. Maybe Will was visible to them too. It was hard to know with ghosts, sometimes, what with their fluctuating life force. Will had always been very present, but Nico would still rather be careful.

Will grimaced. "I thought we were starting over."

Nico chuckled at the look on his face. "This is what I call jokes. Get used to it. What do you want to know? Or—maybe we could play a game? We ask questions to each other in turn?"

"Do people really do that?" Nico shrugged, causing Will to chuckle. "Okay, sure. Who goes first?"

"Well, you just asked a question," Nico said, smirking. "So the answer is: me."

A pout formed on Will's face. "I'm pretty sure that's not fair, but I'll bite."

Nico's triumphant grin nearly faded when he realized he didn't actually know what to ask. So he took the first idea that came to his mind: "Why do you always wear these clothes?" He wondered why a boy in a t-shirt and swimming trunks didn't attract more attention, but he guessed ghosts rarely did unless they were in full haunting mode.

"That's your best shot?"

"They're really offensive to…well, anyone with eyes. And that's not an answer."

"It's the…uniform where I grew up. Dad is a little odd like that. And trust me, I really had to earn the title of 'favorite haiku'." He grimaced briefly at the mention. "I wore them when I was in the apartment, because…they're comfortable and reminded me of home. And then I died in them."

Nico stared. "So you're not aware that you can change at will?"

"I can?"

"Yeah. Strictly speaking, your form has no actual consistency, so you could change anything you want about your appearance. Most people don't change their own body, because…well, they're ghosts and want to hang on to anything that ties them to life. But most ghosts I've met changed clothes."

"Huh. I should try that." He looked down at himself, and the clothes melted into a new shape, the shirt growing to a reasonable length—though it was still very tight—and turning a paler shade of yellow, and the swimming trunks became a pair of blue jeans. "Better? Wait, no, that's not my question."

Nico chuckled. "What is your question, then? And yes, for the record, this is better."

Will's face brightened instantly. "Okay. How many ghosts have you met?"

Nico stared at him for a few seconds. "You realize my day job is exorcism, right? Do you think I count?"

Will only shrugged. "Your best approximation, then."

"Definitely in the hundreds. I've been working for two years now, and practically one ghost per day, plus the occasional side thing. Plus all the ghosts I met when I was still in training…eight, nine hundred? Maybe a thousand."

"So that's how you know so much about ghosts."

"Well it sort of comes with the duties as the Lord of the Underworld's son. They don't call me Prince of Ghosts for nothing." He paused, taking note of the sparkle in Will's eye. "I'm going to regret telling you that, aren't I?"

"Maybe. And that was your question, by the way." Nico glared at him, but Will ignored it. "How many ghosts do you wish you could meet again?"

That was easier than Will had probably intended. "None so far. Ghosts are rarely…pleasant. Even the ones who aren't actively trying to hurt people are still a downer to be around. Even my mom—"

"What about her?"

Nico shook his head. "It's my turn now." He paused, raking his brain for ideas. "You said 'where you grew up'. Where's that?"

"California."

"You're not going to be more specific, are you?"

"Not if I can help it. No offense, but if Dad hid us your very existence, he probably didn't want me to tell you all his secrets."

"None taken. Just know that I'll return the favor, if you decide to ask."

"Noted." He paused. "I'm torn between two questions."

"Well, pick one."

"Okay. So if I had taken that door to the Underworld and you'd still survived somehow…would you still say there's no ghost you'd like to meet again?"

"I don't know." Will frowned, and Nico felt that he owed him an explanation. "I mean, we weren't exactly on good terms. If you were to go now, I think I'd miss you. Then…I don't know."

Will remained silent for a moment, and Nico wondered if he'd hurt him. But then again, the point was to be honest with the other, wasn't it? Maybe he'd overthought the question.

But eventually, Will shrugged. "Fair enough, I guess. I would have missed you from the other side, just so you know."

"That's why you stayed."

"I stayed because you needed my help. And it was worth it, so don't start again."

Nico managed a half-smile. "All right. Next question, then. So you grew up in California. Was your mother there?"

"For a time. Dad made her one of his singers, for a while. Then—not. As soon as your voice shows imperfection, you're replaced. It got us a few years together, at least."

"Didn't you ever try to reach out to her?" He had all but forgotten about their game, and Will didn't stop him.

"I did. She didn't want to see me anymore. Said I reminded her too much of him."

Nico could easily imagine that Will would remind people of his father, if the stories about Apollo's looks were true. "Sorry to hear."

"What about you?"

"I—yeah. My mom had two kids with Hades: my sister Bianca, then me. I was barely born when Father came to claim Bianca. Mom refused, so we were on the run from him for years."

"What happened?"

"She made a bargain she shouldn't have. Our safety, in exchange for becoming the next Pythia. Her mind couldn't take it, however. She died, and Bianca and I had to improvise an exorcism, because she was completely unable to find her way to the Underworld. After that, Father took us in and trained us, but I think he kept her out of the Underworld to punish her—and to scare us."

"The Pythia—"

"Yeah, that's your dad's oracle."

"I'm sorry."

Nico shrugged. "Don't be. One thing I learned: if you start apologizing for your godly parent's mistakes, you'll never stop. There's always more to apologize for."

"Good point." There was a moment of awkward silence, but Will eventually broke it. "You know, maybe this wasn't the best topic of conversation. Why don't you tell me what you do with your free time?"

"What free time?" Nico asked, only barely sarcastic. "You've pretty much seen all of my life in a nutshell already. Sometimes I'll have the energy to pick up a few comic books, try to catch up to my favorite series. Recently, not even that."

"That's…sad. I don't mean that you're sad, just—you should really take a break."

Nico shrugged. "Can't."

"Why not? Are your sisters also stuck in a single place with nothing but their job in their lives?"

"No. But they're famous. Well, in their own field. Bianca fights ghosts, she doesn't just psychoanalyzes them into oblivion, so she's a lot more popular than me. And our half-sister Hazel got the earth powers, and that has a lot of applications. So Hades is a lot more willing to subsidize whatever they want."

"Have you even tried, at least? To ask him?"

Nico took a deep breath to protest, then grimaced. "No."

"You should."

"Yeah. But I can't—not now. Not with New Orleans potentially under siege."

Will's eyes widened. "What?"

Nico sighed. "And here I thought you might have some information. Anyway, there's been a lot of monster movement across the country, and they seem to converge here. Lots of demigods are coming, too. Well, relatively—I've only met three so far, but they were also the first three I met. They were all dead, too."

"Does that include me?"

Nico nodded. "We thought the gods were sending you here on some sort of quests."

"Not my dad. Anything that doesn't involve singing his praises, he only marginally cares about."

"Why did you come to New Orleans, then?"

"I—don't really know. I came back after meeting my mom, fought with Dad about what he did to her, then I just left. I didn't know where to go, really. I just stumbled my way to here, and I thought, 'well, why not?'."

So. Maybe demigods were drawn here. That definitely sounded like the sort of effect Hazel's magic would have on someone. "Okay. Well, I guess I'll just hope to find out more before it's too late."

Will chuckled. "Right. So when are we going to have a regular conversation, then?"

* * *

They made some meaningless smalltalk after that. Nothing ground-breaking, no major information about the other, but in the following hour, over the rest of lunch, Nico felt like he was finally getting a better idea of who Will was. When he wasn't trying to flirt, or talking about gods and monsters. When he was just a boy having lunch with another boy, enthusiastic and funny and hopelessly incapable of being anything less than optimistic.

They went back to Nico's apartment—their apartment, in a way, he guessed, since it had been Will's first—after lunch, and Will forced him to show his collection of comic books.

"Man, you're actually a nerd," he said when Nico pulled out the trunk he kept full of them, haphazardly thrown.

"Wrong," Nico let out, searching through the piles of books. "If I actually were a nerd, I'd have time and willpower to actually sort them."

Will chuckled. "Right. Because a whole trunk of comic books isn't enough to be a nerd."

"I'm like a nerd hybrid. Too nerdy for cool kids like you, not nerdy enough for the true nerds."

"You think I'm a cool kid?"

Nico glanced at him, eyebrows raised. "Please. You're a son of Apollo. It's in your genes. You're the archetypal golden boy."

"Except for the part where I ran away."

"Then you're the archetypal brooding ex-golden boy who ran away from daddy because you have a heart of gold and realized that he was a bad man. There's still probably a thousand romcoms about guys like you."

Will paused. "Okay, I don't know which is worse, and I'm pretty sure you have a point."

Nico chuckled. "You do realize I'm kidding, right?"

"Yeah, but I was a cool kid at home. So you're not completely wrong."

He grinned at Nico, who couldn't help but return the smile, the trunk of comic books forgotten at the moment. "At home," Nico suddenly repeated.

"What?"

"People at your…camp. Don't you want them to know what happened to you?"

Will's eyes widened. "I'd forgotten."

"It's normal. You're a ghost, it does…things…to your memory, sometimes. Still, is there anyone I should call?" Will remained lost in thought for a moment, then headed outside Nico's bedroom. "Wait! Where're you—"

Nico found Will by his laptop. "You can't call them—no cell phones allowed in the presence of Dad. He says the ringtones wreck his mojo, or something like that. But you can Facebook message them. Hang on."

"Um, Will, I'm not sure a Facebook message is the right way to tell people—"

"Well it's all we have to communicate, so it'll have to do. Here, I'll—" He attempted to type something, but his fingers slipped through the keyboard. "What the—" He tried again, to no avail. "This was working fine before."

"Will, calm down. You're upset, and it's causing you to dematerialize."

"I'm not—"

Nico sat down beside him, tentatively reaching out. When he found Will was still solid enough for him to touch, he wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "It's okay to be upset, you know."

Will breathed heavily, silently staring at the screen as though it would suddenly make it work. "Can you do it for me?"

"Sure." Nico gently took the laptop from Will's lap, and found himself on a login screen. "What should I do?"

"My email's already in, just type my password. It's 'Louisa'." Nico did his best not to cast him an interrogating glance, but Will sensed his curiosity anyway. "My mom's name. Look at my friends, and find Kayla. She'll let everyone else know. And…if you could not message her from my account—"

"Of course." He found her profile, logged back into his account, and opened a new message, the paused to look at Will. "Is there anything specific you want me to say?" Telling people about a lost relative was nothing new to Nico; he knew what to say in general, even if he generally did so in person. But maybe Will wished to add something more personal.

"Just—" His voice drifted off. "No. Nothing."

"You sure?"

He closed his eyes, and nodded briefly. "And—please don't tell her about…us."

Nico wasn't even completely sure what they were, but he didn't protest. "Sent. Hopefully she doesn't think it's a prank."

"She won't; trust me." Will didn't offer any explanation.

"Will…are you okay?"

"Yeah. I don't know what came over me. I guess it just hit me that I'll never be able to talk to them again, and—I mean, I know I ran away, and a lot of them probably hate me for that, but—"

Nico set the laptop aside and pulled Will into a hug. "I know. I'm sorry."

He could feel the boy shaking with sobs, but his tears weren't corporeal enough for Nico to feel them.


	6. Chapter 6

Will cried for a long time, but if Nico knew anything from dealing with ghosts, it's that there wasn't one appropriate way to mourn one's own death. So he held him, unsure how to comfort him except by _being_ there.

When his tears ran dry, Will pulled away slightly, just enough to look Nico in the eye and attempt a faint smile. "Sorry about that, and…thanks."

Nico placed a short kiss on Will's lips. "It's okay. I told you: you have every right to be upset. It's been over a month, so it's normal that it hurts now that it finally hits you." Another kiss, on his nose. "And I could tell you it'll get better, but the thing is, I have no idea."

"It will. As long as I have you, it can only get better."

Nico smiled, and kissed him on the forehead. "That was cheesy, even for you."

"What can I say," Will said, chuckling, "I have the genes of a romcom archetype. You said so yourself."

"Well, if you're a romcom hero, then look at the bright side: your lowest point is probably behind you, which only leaves the happy ending."

Will raised an eyebrow, grinning. "With you?"

Nico shrugged. "I wouldn't mind."

"Me neither." Will tackled him, pinning him against the couch with his weight as he pressed a kiss on Nico's lips. He was gone soon, and his face was still a little red from the crying, but he was still absolutely gorgeous, and the spark in his eyes and his grin was doing unfair things to Nico's body. "Nico…" He took a deep breath. "Don't freak out, but I think I love you." Nico froze, but he manage to keep his reaction to that. "I'm serious," Will continued. "I knew it when I saw you dying on the floor."

Nico stared at him, stunned. When he finally recovered enough to try to speak, Will placed a finger across his lips.

"I don't need you to say it back. Just so we're clear. I know it's—fast. And I know I'm a ghost. I just…I wanted you to know it, because I know that's how I feel, and it would be dishonest to hide it from you."

He moved his hand away, staring at Nico expectantly, and Nico finally remembered how to make sounds. "Okay." No, that was stupid. "Thank you for telling me." Still pretty stupid, but that was the best Nico could think of. "I—" Part of him wanted to say _I love you too_, and to mean it, but only part of him, and wasn't that the sort of words you needed to feel with your entire being before saying them? Nico reached out to tangle a hand in Will's hair, almost mindlessly. "I'm not ready to say it back yet." That was the most honest way to say it, and he hoped the 'yet' would make it clear to Will that he knew it was only a matter of time.

Maybe he did: the smile on Will's face was confusing, a mix of happy and sad and relieved. Maybe he'd expected Nico to throw him out immediately. Nico took in those emotions, sighed, and pulled him closer for another kiss, wandering his other hand down Will's back and sliding it under the waistband of his jeans. While changing clothes, he noted, Will had forgotten—or refused—to conjure underwear, and Nico's fingers immediately found smooth, firm skin. He ran his fingers further down the curve of Will's ass, and the boy shivered above him, moaning into Nico's mouth and grinding against his crotch with desperate need.

It was easy to forget that Will had no experience in this matter, sometimes, but this reaction reminded Nico, who forced their lips apart. "What are we doing, exactly?"

Will started, getting back up on his knees, an almost panicked look on his face."I thought—unless you don't want to—"

"What about you? Are you sure you're ready?"

A nervous chuckle escaped Will. "I just told you I loved you and you think I might not be ready? If not now, with you, then when?"

"Okay. I just wanted to be sure."

Will nodded. "I am. I promise." With a mischievous smile, he slipped his hands under Nico's shirt, sending twin shivers across his skin as he moved up, taking the shirt with him. With a sigh, Nico sat up to let him take it off completely.

"We should probably go to my bed," he said. "If only for comfort."

Will chuckled. "All right." He stood, visibly made uncomfortable by the strain in his pants—which Nico could sympathize with.

The bedroom was only a few steps away, which was still far too much. They had to pause three times, one of them pinning the other against the table, a wall, the door, kissing with enthusiasm and getting rid of one article of clothing or the other.

By the time they reached Nico's bed, he was in his boxers and Will was only wearing his jeans—under which Nico now knew there was nothing but Will, ready for him. Grinning, he pushed Will against the footboard and dropped to his knees. Only then did Will seem to realize his intention: he let out a small whimper when Nico pulled down his pants in one swift motion, then a small gasp when Nico gripped his erection, now free, with a hand.

The sound he made when Nico took him in his mouth was absolutely divine—Nico spoke as a connoisseur on the subject.

Nico adopted a slow rhythm, too slow for his own liking—it had been so long since Nico himself had gotten laid—but he didn't want to rush it, especially if it was Will's first time. Besides, there was a lot to enjoy in taking the scenic route too: Will's uncontrolled breathing, the small noises he let out from time to time, the way his hands fluttered around Nico, tangling in his hair one moment, trying to caress him the next, then settling on the footboard to keep Will steady.

The latter was a losing battle: his body quivered under Nico's control, and it wasn't long before his legs gave way and he dropped on the bed. It forced Nico to let go of him for a moment, and he took the opportunity to trail kiss on Will's lower stomach, over his upper thighs, then slowly, back up the length of his cock before he took sucked on it once more. Will grasped at the sheets, his body slowly tensing, and that was Nico's cue to stop.

He slithered over Will's body, kissing a path up on to his lips. When he reached them, Will captured him completely, rolling them both to he'd lie on top of Nico and kissing him with a hunger Nico could only feel pleased at having caused.

When Will was finally sated, he looked down and noticed Nico's boxers still in the way, his cock straining against them and slightly wet with pre-come. Nico didn't care about that detail, and neither did he, apparently: all Will seemed to care about was his haste to take them off. Nico couldn't complain about that.

Once he did, he sat back, immobile for a moment, staring at Nico, as if drinking in the sight of his naked body. He cast a few glances from Nico's face to his dick, as if debating what to do next. Nico didn't let him: he grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him to kiss him again. As he did, Nico found one of Will's hands with his, guiding him down to his own cock. Will got the message, delicately taking it—almost as if he was afraid—as he begun to stroke. He was slow at first, but not for long, especially not when Nico found the boy's cock and stroked in response.

Will seemed to build up a frenzy, enthusiastically gaining speed—way too fast. At this rate, Nico would come soon, too soon. He didn't want that, he wanted to take his time, but his protests died as moans in Will's mouth as Nico's body relished in the sensations and he began to gain speed himself to match Will's, instead of bringing him down to his own rhythm.

He barely noticed his orgasm until it hit him in full force, sending tremors through his body as Will, startled, froze completely and pulled away. "Don't stop," Nico managed to say through the haze, and Will understood, stroking again with maddening speed, pumping Nico through his orgasm. His eyes never left Nico's the whole time, not even when his breath hitched as the movements of Nico's hand over his cock resumed; not even when he let out a strangled cry and came spurting over Nico's fingers and belly, hot yet strangely lacking in the stickiness as Will's bodily fluids lost consistency soon after leaving his body.

Will dropped next to Nico, lying on his side, staring at him still. It took Nico longer to come down enough to turn his head and meet his gaze.

"So that happened," Will said.

"Yeah, that happened. Feel any different?"

"Good, but not different. I didn't expect to, though. I'm not the blushing ingenue in our romcom, I'm the popular stud."

Nico laughed. "Of course you are."

Will's smile met his. "It wasn't what I expected, but it was also better than what I could have imagined."

Nico kissed him briefly. "Well, that's usually everyone's first time. Unless it's a disaster, of course."

"What was it for you?"

"Bit of both. The sex was great; the incubus trying to feed on me after, not so much."

Will laughed. "You're not going to do that, are you?"

"Hmm." Nico kissed him down his neck. "I'm seriously tempted," he teased, grazing his teeth over the skin of Will's throat. "But I think I could use some rest first. I did just almost die last night."

* * *

He didn't sleep; he couldn't have, not while feeling so _awake_ and _alive_ with Will next to him. The irony of that was not lost on Nico. They lay in bed together, lost in each other and in daydreams.

It was only when they got up for dinner that something hit him. Nico's phone had been silent for the entire day. Did everyone already know Bianca was back, that he'd almost died? Was it just a coincidence? Either way, he appreciated it. Just the thought of this afternoon with Will being interrupted by anything was terrible already.


	7. Chapter 7

Peace could only last so long for Nico. In that case, until the next morning. He and Will hadn't slept at all throughout the night—though there had been a few moments where Nico had to rest, halfway dozing off with his head rested in the crook of Will's neck. He'd tried resting it against his chest, but no matter how solid Will was to him, his lack of heartbeat was always disconcerting to Nico. That was one thing he could never face, like eating.

The first rays of sunlight were peering in through the blinds when the phone rang, loud, obnoxious, unwelcome, and startling the two of them right as Will was tentatively about to take Nico's cock in his mouth. The sound made them both freeze, killing the mood. More than frustrated, Nico half-limped out of his bedroom, searching for his phone in the mess that was the living room.

It was Bianca. "I hope there's a good reason for this," he said, picking up the call.

"Good morning to you too, Nico." She was no more of a morning person than he was, and her tone was about as murderous as Nico's.

He sighed. "Okay, sorry. Of course there's a good reason you'd interrupt my—" Will's arms came from behind, settling around his waist as the boy pressed himself against Nico's back, strong and warm—no ghost should be allowed to be this _warm_. The hard line of his erection was distracting, and when Will's hands found Nico's still half-hard dick, Nico couldn't hold back a soft sound, halfway between a sigh and a moan—

"What was that?" Bianca had been speaking, apparently, and she'd heard him. "Are you listening to me? Wait, _what_ am I interrupting?"

It was all Nico could do to keep his breathing under control, because Will apparently had no intention of letting go of him—and Nico didn't really _want_ him to stop. "It's—long story. Sorry, I didn't catch what you were saying."

Bianca hummed with unveiled skepticism. "Yeah, I'd figured as much. We have a situation here." She paused, but Nico was too busy biting his lips to stay silent to ask her to elaborate. "Demigods. Alive, this time."

Nico bit back a whimper. "Several of them?"

"Two. They want to talk to you." She lowered her voice. "So get up, get dressed, say goodbye to whoever you're with, and I'm sorry I'm ruining your date, but honestly, Nico, _this looks pretty important_. Come at my place."

Of course she'd have guessed. She hung up, right on time for Nico to collapse backwards, into Will's embrace.

He let go of the breath he'd been holding into a strangled cry, his body tensing with each of Will's strokes. His hand found Will's, reluctantly guiding his rhythm to a faster pace—as much as he wanted to take his time, he couldn't leave Bianca hanging for _too_ long.

It wasn't long before he felt the familiar buildup, the pressure rising and finally peaking as Nico came in their linked hands, going limp in Will's arms, barely registering the kiss Will was pressing against his neck.

Will sat on the couch behind him, and Nico let himself be carried along, practically motionless for a moment to catch his breath.

"Did you really have to do that?" he said, his voice barely able to reach higher than a fake whine.

"Sorry, I hadn't noticed you were complaining."

Nico chuckled. "I meant while I was on the phone." He stood up, and Will followed the movement, catching him by the wrists. "I have to go. Demigods are in town—my sister's freaking out." Well, she probably was, even though she wouldn't let on.

Will sighed, and finally, let go of him. "Okay."

Nico turned around, taking in the sight of him, naked, golden and beautiful in the early sunlight—and still very aroused. He considered taking care of that last part, but rejected the idea. "Sorry I have to leave you hanging like that," he said, placing a kiss on Will's lips.

* * *

"You'll have to explain to me how you can take so long to come over when you shadow-travel."

Bianca's greeting got Nico to glare at her. "Sure, next time you call I'll appear in your apartment naked and gross. That'll do wonders with the demigods who want to meet me."

His sister sighed, but a half-smile formed on her lips. "You didn't tell me you had someone."

"It was our first time."

"Who is it?"

Nico should have anticipated the question, but he hadn't. How would Bianca react to him dating a ghost? "Can we talk about it after we deal with the demigods?"

She considered him silently for a moment. "Fine. But we _will_ talk about it."

"'I'm so happy to hear you found someone, little brother'," Nico said, mockingly. "It's not like me dating is a _problem_. So where are those newcomers?"

"They're waiting at the Starbucks across the road. They insisted to wait there, not me." She glanced him up and down. "Was the exorcist getup really necessary?"

Nico looked down at the black jeans and leather jacket he was wearing. "They're just my clothes, Bianca. I wear them because I _like_ them. And you're wearing practically the same thing." Her jacket was white, but underneath, she wore a black t-shirt like he did. They didn't look that different from each other at all: Nico was finally taller than her—the result of a very late and very recent growth spurt—and he'd finally cut his hair while hers was carefully braided, but aside from that, their features and even the frame of their bodies were similar.

"Exactly. Now it looks like we coordinated. And I'm wearing it _better_."

Nico scoffed. "Let's just go."

* * *

Finding the demigods in the Starbucks required no effort at all on Nico's part, even before Bianca pointed them to him: they stood out against the crowd, radiating power the way Nico had only ever seen his sisters do before. It was almost like they were the only ones in color, while everyone else around was dulled in comparison.

The demigods were two girls. The first stood up when she noticed them, her face serene but grave, and walked up to them. She had dark skin and darker hair, meticulously arranged in a multitude of cascading braids, swept to one side of her head. When she came up close, Nico noticed her startling green eyes, luminescent against her skin. "Hi again," she said. "And you must be Nico? I'm Lou Ellen. Nice to meet you."

She offered her hand, and Nico took it. "Likewise. But how do you know about me?"

"I don't—she does." She nodded back towards the table, and Nico followed her gaze, noticing the other girl.

Her skin was pale, with a slight tanned and covered in freckles, with curly golden hair cut short. That last detail had thrown off Nico when he'd first seen her, but now that he looked again, he saw more. He saw her delicate nose, and her full, red lips, and he recognized her. He recognized her because he'd seen the same features just moments ago—on Will's face. They had to be related, and knowing that, he realized where he'd seen her: on a picture, glimpsed the previous afternoon while he was sending a message.

"Kayla." The name escaped Nico's lips, and she lifted her eyes to meet his.

"Wait, you know that girl?" Bianca's incredulity matched the surprise in Lou Ellen's eyes, but Nico ignored them both. He walked to the table, and sat down across from Kayla.

"Hi," he said. Her eyes were the same shamed of blue as Will's, but were staring at him with a sorrow Nico had never seen in his. He could easily guess why. "I didn't think you'd come all the way here. Especially not overnight. How did you—"

"Did you really think I'd let my brother's death go unpunished?"

Her anger made Nico start, as did her voice, deep and raspy, so different from how melodious Will usually sounded. "I—that's already been settled. The monster that killed him attacked me, and I destroyed it."

"So I'm supposed to think that _you_"—she stared Nico up and down—"managed to defeat a monster when my brother didn't?"

"From what I understood, Will was taken by surprise." Technically, Nico had too, but he also would have died if it weren't for Will anyway, so he chose to skip that detail.

"And how do you know that?"

Nico tried to speak, but Bianca interrupted him. "Okay, can someone tell me what's going on?"

"I told you about the demigod ghost who haunts my apartment. He asked me to send a message to one of his half-siblings, to let them know he was gone. That's Kayla. As I said, I never thought she'd come over." Nico paused, and turned to Lou Ellen. "Although—you don't look like a child of Apollo. So I have no idea who _you_ are."

"I'm a daughter of Hecate," she replied. "Kayla and I have known each other for a long time. I came for her sake."

Nico frowned. "But—Will didn't even _know_ the other gods were real."

"He didn't," Kayla said. "I did. Dad would be really upset if he found out, though. That's why I never told Will, or the others."

Nico stared at her, puzzled, then exchanged a glance with Bianca. The idea to hide something that major from his own sisters was unthinkable to him, even if it went against Hades's wishes. _Especially_ if it went against Hades's wishes. "Okay. So why are you here?"

"To avenge Will." Nico was about to protest again, but she interrupted him. "Yes, you killed the monster itself. But I want to know _why_ it was there."

"What do you mean?" Bianca asked. "Monster attacks are pretty common against demigods in the mortal world."

Kayla stared at her, then at Nico, then finally at Lou Ellen, a question in her eyes. Only when her friend nodded did her expression soften. Will had hinted to Nico that they rarely left their camp: maybe Kayla didn't even know that monster attacks were frequent. "So—what am I supposed to do? Chalk it up to bad luck? He went into dangerous territory, was attacked, oh well, better luck next time?"

"I don't know," Nico said. "I can't tell you how to deal with his death." He wasn't even sure he was dealing with it himself.

"And why did he ask _you_ to send me a message?"

Nico shrugged. "I told you _in_ my message. I'm a son of Hades, I happened to rent his apartment, I saw his ghost." Will had asked him not to tell Kayla about their relationship, and he hadn't told Bianca either yet, so he certainly wasn't going to get into _those_ details.

"Could I talk to them? I don't know, have a séance or whatever it is you guys do?"

"I—I'm not sure. I can't guarantee you Will's ghost will still be there. It's not an exact science." He glanced at Bianca, who was staring back, unreadable. But at least, she'd decided not to call him out on his obvious lie. "But if I do see him, I'll ask him if he wants to talk to you."

Kayla opened her mouth to speak, then seemed to change her mind for a moment. She took a deep breath, and finally said, "I guess that's all I'll get, isn't it? Thanks."

* * *

When they finally parted ways, with Kayla and Lou Ellen saying that they were going to stay in town for a while—and promising to watch out for monsters—Nico followed Bianca back to her apartment. Mostly because she practically dragged him there.

"What was that about? 'If I do see him, I'll ask him'? How can you not know if he's around or not?"

Lying to Bianca wasn't even an option—even if it would mean a really awkward conversation when he hadn't slept in more than twenty-four hours and had barely escaped death the night before that. "He asked me not to tell her in my message. I didn't know she'd actually come here to talk to him, but I couldn't just tell her she could talk to him. Not before asking Will first."

Bianca raised an eyebrow. "So he _is_ still around. Which means your apartment is haunted. Wasn't that a problem, what with last n—" She froze, but she _knew_. "Oh, _gods_. Are you _serious_?"

Nico bit his lip, looking for the right way to present it. "Look, it's—complicated."

"Yeah, I _bet_ it is. You slept. With a ghost."

"Actually we're dating. I think." Better to get it all out at once, he guessed. "Hold on before you start yelling. I didn't mean for this to happen. I thought he was actually gone, then the giant spider attacked me, and I did destroy it, but it almost killed me too, and Will—healed me, somehow. Bianca, he passed on his chance to move on to save me. And then, this morning—I mean, yesterday morning—he kissed me, and we went out, and I—"

"You almost _died_?" There was no anger in Bianca's voice—never anger, when she heard Nico's life was threatened.

"Yes."

"And he saved you."

Nico shrugged. "Children of Apollo can heal, right? I guess even as a ghost, he has some of that left."

"And then he kissed you?"

"Well I was out for a few hours first, but yeah."

"And all that was yesterday? So you wake up almost dead, and immediately go on a date, and end up not sleeping all night because you're too busy getting it on with a dead guy?"

Nico paused. "It does sound pretty rushed when you're putting it like that."

"Yeah, you're damn right it does."

"But—I really like him. I know, it's childish, but I do. Can't you be happy for me?"

Bianca sighed, and placed her hands on his shoulders. "I _am_. Of course I am. But I'm worried, too. Even if you're right for each other—Nico, he's _dead_."

"Don't you think I haven't thought of that?"

"What'll you do when he goes to the Underworld?"

"'If', not 'when'. I told you, he ignored his gateway. It may never happen again, you know that."

"Okay, 'if' he goes to the Underworld."

Not something Nico had wanted to think about. "I guess I'll—you know, mourn him. But it's not like that couldn't happen with anyone else."

"No, but in his case it's a lot less of a _possibility_. And what if he never goes in the Underworld and turns into a vengeful spirit? Could you exorcise the guy you've been dating?"

"He wouldn't. That's not who Will is—"

"You have to consider it. Even the nicest people can turn crazy after a time as ghosts."

Nico wanted to protest, but she was right. "I—I'll see then. _If_ it happens. Which _it may not_."

They fell silent for a moment, before Bianca took him in her arms. "I'm just trying to look out for you, you know that, right?"

"I know. I just—I don't want to think about it right now."

"Fine. I guess you can enjoy the honeymoon phase." Nico glared at her phrasing, but she deflected it with a grin. "So when do I meet him? And Hazel! We've gotta call Hazel. She'll drop everything to meet your ghost boyfriend."

"I'm not sure it's a good idea for her to drop _everything_—"

"Don't you dare try to keep it from her, Nico!"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll call Hazel."


	8. Chapter 8

"You look dreadful."

Nico glared at Will, sprawled on his couch—disappointingly clothed. "I'm _tired_. Sorry if some of us are alive."

"Ouch." Will pretended to wince, but it was soon replaced by a grin. "Those demigods were trouble?"

"Depends." He shrugged off his jacket, tossing it at the table. Will shifted on the couch, inviting him to sit down by his side; as soon as Nico did, though, he returned to his lying position, resting his head on Nico's lap. Absentmindedly, Nico ran his fingers through his hair, trying to find the best way to breach the topic of their respective sisters.

"On what?" He paused. "Hey, are you still with me?"

Nico started, unaware that he'd nearly drifted off. "Yeah. I was just thinking."

"With your eyes closed?" Will teased. "Maybe you should get some sleep. You didn't get any rest since you almost died, and it's kind of my fault. I'd hate it if you were too tired and it put you in _more_ trouble."

"Yeah, I should. In a moment. I have to tell you something first."

Will stared at him, his eyes inquisitive. "What's going on?"

"The demigods we met…one of them was Kayla."

A stunned, uncomfortable silence hung between them. "Kayla. _My_ Kayla?"

Nico nodded. "She wanted to avenge you. And…now she wants to talk to you."

"Is that even _possible_?"

Nico didn't know what he'd expected, but this wasn't it: Will sounded…eager. "Yeah, of course. She couldn't see you, but she could talk to you and I can relay the answers. Well, strictly speaking, you could appear to her, too, but most people don't manage to do it in front of their loved ones, so I think it'd be better if I'm here just in case." He paused. "If you want to, of course. You don't have to do anything, I didn't make any promises."

"Why _wouldn't_ I want to talk to Kayla?"

Nico shrugged. "You didn't want her to know about us, and—she's here with a friend. A daughter of Hecate. They've been friends for a long time."

"You mean—" Will looked away, his eyebrows slowly knitting into a frown. Still silent, he sat up, turning his back to Nico. "But why would she—"

"She said she didn't want to defy your dad."

"So she was lying to all of us just to save her own skin."

Nico wrapped his arms around Will's shoulders. "I guess she was trying to protect you too. If you'd known, Apollo would have punished you as well."

Will sighed. "Maybe, I guess. But she should have known I would have kept her secret. And—" he paused, chuckling to himself. "Never mind."

It was pretty much an invitation to press him on. "What is it?"

"If I'd known about other demigods, maybe we could have met before…you know."

_Before he died_. Nico couldn't help but toy with the idea for a moment, but he dismissed it. "Or maybe you would have been prepared to face that monster, and then we'd never have met at all."

He felt Will finally relax in his arms a little, and the boy twisted around to meet his gaze. "That would be horrible," he said, managing a weak grin. "I know it's useless to imagine what could have been. It's just—I always thought we had each other's back."

"I can imagine the feeling. I don't know how I'd feel if my sisters lied to me." Then, as his conversation with Bianca came to mind, he gasped. "That reminds me. I—sort of told Bianca about you, and now she wants to meet you. With our half-sister, Hazel."

Will stared at him for a moment, then smiled—one of these real, bright, warm smiles of his. "Does she, now? Can't blame her. I'd want to meet me too."

Nico couldn't help but gape at his sudden change of mood. "So…is that a yes?"

"Sure! It's probably early to meet the family already, but—anything for you."

Nico froze, suddenly remember Will telling him he loved him. "I—you sure you don't mind? I wouldn't want to force you."

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I'd like to meet them. But—will they be able to see me?"

"Of course. Bianca has similar powers to mine. Hazel doesn't, but she can still se ghosts. All children of Hades can."

"Okay. Just checking." He inched closer to Nico. "So, what did you tell your sister? Did you boast about last night? Tell her how awesome I am?"

He slipped a hand under Nico's shirt, running up his chest, sending shivers all over Nico's body. "Mmm. Not really. She just connected the dots. It's not like I was very discreet on the phone this morning."

"So she _does_ know I'm good."

"Says the guy who was a virgin twenty-four hours ago."

Will opened his mouth, frozen in pretend offense. "Oh, is that really what you think of me? Because you didn't look like I was too inexperienced for you _all night long_."

Nico chuckled. "I never said you were _bad_. I'm just saying,"—he pulled Will closer for a kiss—"that you've got a lot more to learn."

Will raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm all ears, professor di Angelo. Ears and whatever else you'll need."

"What I need…is sleep." Nico barely contained his laughter at Will's disappointment. "But…I guess an orgasm _could_ help with that. Come on, let's go to bed. I'm _not_ doing this on a couch today." Will was up in one fluid motion, snatching Nico's hands along the way and practically pulling him along. An eager glint changed the blue in his eyes, making it more vibrant, more electric than usual. Knowing that Nico was the cause of it was almost making him dizzy with pleasure; he let himself fall into Will's arms and kissed him deeply, hungrily, like they'd been apart for months.

They barely parted on their way to the bedroom, only pausing for breath—Will had apparently forgotten he didn't need that, but Nico couldn't say he minded—and to get rid of their shirts. The rest of their clothes followed when Nico had Will pinned against the doorframe of his bedroom, as he blindly fumbled with both their belts, zippers and underwear.

When they finally reached the bed, they almost crashed on it, and Nico paused to appreciate the feeling of lying down for a moment as Will straddled him, appreciating the weight and warmth of his cock, not fully hard yet, against Nico's stomach. He reached for it, but Will caught his hand in midair.

"You know, we were rudely interrupted this morning. Maybe we should take back when we left off." There was an excited light in his eyes, but his smirk was hesitant. "I mean, if you're willing to let me try?"

It had been his first try, back in the morning, and he'd been interrupted before he could really started; his hesitation now made Nico smile fondly. "Yes, please." He was already painfully hard, his dick pressed against the curve of Will's ass, and it was all he could do not to grind up for friction. If Will didn't move soon, he'd have to take over.

Will did move, however, bending over to press a kiss against Nico's jawline, then another on his neck. He'd done that in the morning too, kissing a trail down Nico's chest, and Nico closed his eyes, reveling in the sensations.

He paused once more when he'd come all the way down, and Nico opened his eyes to meet his gaze. "Any advice?" Will asked, his voice suddenly higher-pitched than usual, his cheeks flushed bright.

Nico sat up, bringing himself suddenly close to Will's face. But he resisted the urge to close the distance, and focused on Will's question. "Here. Give me your hand." He took Will's right hand, delicately bringing it to his own cock, letting Will close his fingers around it, almost on instinct. "You don't want to start too fast. You don't even have to take it immediately in your mouth, a lot of people start with kissing, licking or—"

Before he could finish his thought, Will went down, and after one last brief moment of hesitation inches from Nico's dick, finally made contact with his lips. It wasn't much at first: brief, almost fluttering kisses, barely enough to electrify Nico's nerves and force him to use his arms to steady himself. "Okay, like that," he managed to say as Will picked up the pace. "Don't start with much. Just the head's a good start, and it'll help you get used to the feeling."

Will took his advice to heart, apparently, bringing his lips to the tip of Nico's cock and sliding down at a tortuously slow pace, engulfing him in sudden heat. He went further than Nico had advised, but barely, then bobbed his head back up, letting Nico slide out completely. He chuckled, the breath of his warm feeling incredible against Nico's dick. "It feels…larger than I expected."

"Yeah, it usually does," Nico couldn't help but say.

Will looked up at him. "Really? That was the perfect opportunity to brag, right there."

"Less talking, more sucking."

"Yes, professor di Angelo." Nico was about to laugh at him, but then Will's mouth closed around him again, and his fist, still wrapped around Nico's cock, begin to pump up and down in sync with the movements of Will's head, and he lost all ability to reason. His arms gave way, and he let himself fall back against the mattress, crying out Will's name desperately. Will moaned in response, sending vibrations through Nico and only making things worse.

Will was right: he _was_ good, but Nico would never have admitted it straight to his face. With each movement of his head, Will took him in a little deeper, and Nico ended up matching his movements with his hips, unable to lie still any longer.

When he felt the familiar buildup announcing an orgasm, he managed to stop his own movements. "Will," he forced himself to say "if you—if you don't want to swallow, you should stop now."

He didn't, however; if anything, his rhythm became a little faster, and Nico let himself go limp, standing on the edge for a just a moment longer before he toppled over it, calling out Will's name again as he came into the boy's mouth. He froze for a moment as Nico's come spilled out, but only briefly, pumping Nico through his orgasm without once letting go.

Nico let his head fall back against the pillow, waiting for Will to come back up.

"So how did I do?" he asked. Nico didn't answer, merely pulling him down to kiss him hard, tasting himself on Will's tongue, feeling the pressure of Will's hard cock against his hip.

"Don't ever forget this part," Nico said. "It's my favorite."

"Isn't that, like, self-incestuous or something?"

Nico chuckled. "Shut up. How about I return the favor and show you _why_ it's my favorite?"

He propped himself up on his elbows, but Will stopped him, laying a hand on his chest and pushing him back down. "Another time. I thought you wanted to sleep."

"I'm not _that_ selfish."

He rolled off of Nico. "Maybe I want you to just watch me, then." His gaze at Nico was filled with a mischievous smile. "I just—never jerked off in front of anyone. I wanna try that."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Okay."

"Just watch, okay? Don't touch me."

That was a much more difficult request to follow, but Nico complied. He rolled on his side, a short distance away from Will, unwilling to even blink for fear of losing a single image of the show. His boyfriend wrapped a hand around his cock, stroking it leisurely as his other hand moved haphazardly across his chest, caressing in spots Nico wouldn't have thought to explore himself. At first, Will kept glancing at Nico, and as his breath shortened, his face blushed brighter and brighter—with excitement? embarrassment? a mixture of the two? Nico couldn't say.

Eventually, Will closed his eyes, laying his head on the pillow, and Nico could finally detach his eyes from Will's, admiring his boyfriend's body almost for the first time. The sun was shining right down on them, lighting Will's hair to almost look like sunlight itself. The hair around his cock was slightly a darker shade of gold, Nico noticed, and his skin was more bronzed than he'd previously noticed.

Maybe it was silly to focus on that, to linger on the Will's muscles tightening uncontrollably as he jerked himself faster and faster, but Nico couldn't help it. He was like a fine sculpture, every inch of the boy's body carved to perfection, and it was mesmerizing to watch him with his guard down.

Will came almost silently, barely announced when his breath grew fast beyond control, and suddenly he was spilling come all over his chest. Nico knew by now that it wouldn't remain very long—ghosts couldn't maintain any fluid corporeal outside of their own body—so he committed the image to memory, Will's come glistening on his skin under the sun.

He'd opened his eyes, Nico realized, and was staring right back at Nico. "You're beautiful," he said—because it was true, and because it was the only thought on his mind in that moment.

Will smiled sheepishly. "Um, thanks."

Nico chuckled, and shifted closer to him. "So. You wanted me to watch you, and now I have. What do you think?"

"Shouldn't _I_ be the one to ask you that?" Nico remained silent, and eventually, Will sighed. "I—kind of liked it. I felt a little ridiculous at first, but—" his voice drifted off.

"But?"

"But I saw the way you were looking at me after, and I thought…maybe it was worth feeling a little ridiculous."

Nico chuckled again, reaching up to kiss Will. "You mind if I actually get some sleep, now?"

"Not at all." Nico nuzzled against his neck, closing his eyes, ready to sleep. And yet, moments later, Will asked, "So how much…experience do you have?"

"What do you mean?"

"What have you…tried? And…" he paused, and Nico heard his nervous gulp, "with…how many guys?"

"I've tried…I don't know, most vanilla stuff, I guess. Handjobs, blowjobs, anal, fingering, rimming, probably a few more. On both ends." Silence hung between them for a moment, and Nico could almost hear Will debating with himself if he should ask again about the number of Nico's past lovers. He decided to spare him. "I've only had one serious boyfriend before. His name was Mathias, he was my first—first to make me realize I was gay, first boyfriend, and first guy I had sex with. Though it took a few years to move from one to the next." He chuckled, almost embarrassed at himself. "We broke up because he and his girlfriend got back together. He offered a threeway thing, but I—didn't feel up for it."

"And that's it?"

"I'm afraid not. I was heartbroken, and my dad thought it would be funny to tease me about it at every opportunity. I don't think he really approves of my sexuality. So I decided to shove it in his face by hooking up as much as I could." Noticing Will's almost horrified expression, he added, "I wasn't that successful, but I did score a few guys. After a while, I calmed down, started dating instead of picking up one-night-stands. Nothing lasted long, though. And then, for the past couple years, I just…didn't have time for that anymore. Or any personal life, really."

"But how many?"

Nico wondered if he should lie, or pretend he didn't remember. But he did, and he didn't want to lie to Will. "Seven hook-ups total, and four boyfriends, including the first one. None of the other three lasted me more than a month, though." He took a deep breath. "If you have a problem with that, I'll understand."

"I don't. It's just—weird to think about it."

"You mean more to me than any of them." Well, maybe not more than Mathias—that was too soon to tell—but more than the others without a doubt. "I hope you know that."

Will smiled brightly at him. "I know now." He chuckled. "I'm—it's just silly. Sorry I asked. You should sleep."

"Don't be sorry. But—thanks, I will now. Unless you have something else you want to ask?"

Will kissed his forehead. "No, I don't. Sleep tight, Ghost Prince."

Nico mentally kicked himself for mentioning the nickname, before he drifted off for good.


	9. Chapter 9

Nico woke up slowly, emerging from the heavy, almost painful haze that always came when he overslept. He breathed in deeply, and when the scent of Will hit him, sighed with relief and comfort. It had been so long since he'd spent the night with someone—except last night, but they hadn't slept at all then. This feeling of waking up with a lover pressed against him, the intimacy of it, Nico had missed it.

"Good morning, sleepyhead."

Morning? It had still been morning when he'd drifted off. "How long have I been asleep?"

"I think we're nearing fifteen hours now."

Nico swore as he jolted awake, but Will's arms pressed around him, holding him down. "I probably have tons of work! Did my phone ring?"

"Nope. Not that I would have woken you if it had. You needed it."

"I need money to live, you know."

"You also need to not die to live. Believe me, I have a lot of experience with healing people back from the brink of death. You needed the rest."

Nico sighed, but he relaxed into Will's embrace, resting his head on Will's chest. "My ghost boyfriend is lecturing me on the art of not dying," he teased. "Makes perfect sense." Will laughed, and Nico felt the vibrations in his own body. In moments like these, it would be so easy to just forget that Will wasn't dead, he briefly thought.

He was almost certain he'd dozed off when his stomach's growling brought him back to reality. "Come on, I'm starving."

"I can make you breakfast," Will offered.

Nico eyed him curiously, but, remembering the first time he'd cooked for him, he nodded. "What's your deal with cooking for me?"

Will pushed Nico off of him and got up, stretching—and grinning as Nico's eyes trailed over his naked body. "My 'deal' is that I like to do it and I'm good at it. Unlike you."

"I can cook!" Nico protested.

"I'll believe it when I see it." He left the bedroom, not letting Nico time to retort.

Nico scoffed, but he guessed Will had a point. It _had_ been a while since he'd cooked a proper meal for himself. It was a little too depressing. Maybe he could show off when Bianca and Hazel came over, though—

_Shit_. He'd forgotten to call Hazel. He rushed out of bed, grabbing sweatpants and an old Spiderman t-shirt, and struggling to put them on as he rushed to his phone.

Too late. A text from Bianca was already waiting, sent the night before. _Hazel said you never called. I told her to use Labyrinth magic to get there tomorrow night for dinner. Hope that's okay with you, because if it wasn't, you SHOULD HAVE CALLED HER YOURSELF._

'Tomorrow night', that meant tonight. That wouldn't leave Nico a lot of time to get ready. Not that he really needed to get _ready_, he only needed to make the place look presentable. And to make _Will_ look presentable, he noted, glancing towards the kitchen to see him naked under his apron.

* * *

By the time evening came, Nico was fairly satisfied with the state of his apartment and his boyfriend. He'd gotten Will to conjure up the same clothes he'd worn on their first date, blue jeans and a tight, pale yellow t-shirt.

He'd spent the afternoon trying to come up with an idea of something to make for dinner, and eventually had just given up on original ideas and gone for homemade pizza. It was his mom's recipe: maybe it would help mellow out Bianca, if she was still pissed that he hadn't called Hazel as he'd promised.

Everything was ready far too long in advance, giving Nico plenty of time to grow irrationally anxious. What if they didn't like Will? What if Bianca forced him to go to the Underworld? Worse, what if their meeting somehow got Hades' attention and he got involved? Things could get messy, and Nico was starting to question whether this was a good idea at all. It was too late to back down, though.

Hazel was the first to arrive, clad in colorful, casual clothes as she usually was in meetings like this. As soon as Nico let her in, she rushed to Will, greeting warmly but not bothering to hide her staring him up and down.

Finally, she turned to Nico with a smirk. "'I'm not _that_ desperate for a boyfriend'," she said, in a perfect impression of Nico's voice.

Nico felt himself blushing. He could barely remember discussing it with Hazel, even though it had barely been over a week ago. "Well, I—it wasn't about desperation anymore."

Hazel's smile turned a little warmer. "That's good to hear." She turned to Will. "Nice to meet you! I'm Hazel Levesque. His half-sister, in case he never told you about me."

"Of course he did. I'm Will Solace."

"It's an honor. Do you know how many of Nico's boyfriends I've met? One!" She paused, her eyes suddenly going wide, and glanced at Nico, silently asking if this was a misstep. Nico rolled his eyes, but he smiled at her.

"Sorry if I only introduce the serious ones," Nico quipped. He did his best not to stare at Will, but he still noticed the way his face lit up. "Have you heard from Bianca?"

"I assumed she'd be shadow-traveling here."

"You assumed right." Nico couldn't help but jump as Bianca emerged from the shadows of his entrance hall.

"How long have you been _standing_ there?"

Bianca shrugged, as if this were a perfectly normal thing to do. "A minute or so."

Nico sighed. "Well, Bianca, this is Will. Will, Bianca. Can we _try_ to act like a normal family now?"

"Only if you bring out the booze," Hazel said.

That, Nico had expected—he'd restocked on beer and wine in the afternoon from a local satyr who owed him, Hedge. That was all he could get, because anything else would require buying from a mortal, and Nico really couldn't spare the cash. But Hazel seemed content with it when he tossed her a bottle.

They gathered on Nico's old couches, and to his surprise, neither of his sisters said anything about Will being a ghost. If he hadn't known better—if Will wasn't the only one without a drink—this would have looked just like any other 'meet the family' scene. Boring small talk, Hazel teasing the way Nico and Will leaned into each other, Bianca getting slightly inquisitive about Will's past—especially about Kayla. No mention of ghosts or potentially turning into a vengeful spirit, nothing about monsters killing demigods.

Deep down, Nico knew he shouldn't be surprised by this. Of course his sisters would have his back. And of course Will would charm them. Still, he couldn't help but feel relief washing over him. He didn't even fear a surprise exorcism would happen while he went to put his pizza in the oven.

He couldn't help but feel sorry his sisters had come for dinner, since that meant Will was basically excluded by default. So much for trying to impress him with his cooking skills. Sure, Will complimented the smell of his pizza and was all but drooling at the sight of it, but he'd never get to _taste_ it. Stupid ghost rules. But Will's mood didn't waver even then, so Nico refused to let that get him down.

Bianca helped him do the dishes after they were done, in an all-too-obvious attempt at getting to talk to him privately.

"I'm sorry I blew up at you yesterday morning," she said. "I was just—when you said he was a _ghost_, I—"

"I understand, you know."

"Yeah, _that's_ why I'm sorry. I should have known you'd already gone through all the questioning and the second-guessing on your own. When you left my place yesterday, I—I feared you'd break up with him because of me."

Nico couldn't help but chuckle at her. "You really think I'm that much of a pushover?"

"No, but you do have a history of denying yourself happiness. I had no right to try and push you even further in that direction."

She paused, but Nico said nothing. He didn't like it when Bianca became serious about him—even less so when she was _right_.

"He's great, by the way. I'm happy for you. Really."

Nico looked up from the plate he was drying to find his sister staring at him with a concerned look. "I'm glad you could see it."

"Let's make a deal. I won't bring up the ghost thing with you anymore, but only if you promise me that you won't hesitate to call me if _you_ need to talk about it. Especially if you're afraid things are going wrong."

Nico laughed softly. "You just _had_ to have an agenda in the end."

"I was being sincere!"

He only laughed harder at her grimace. "I know. I'm just teasing." She glared at him, and he wrestled his hilarity back under control. "Fine. It's a deal."

They came back out of the kitchen to find Will and Hazel absorbed in a discussion about what sex was like for a ghost, which, to Nico's surprise, didn't seem to fluster Will in the slightest—though Nico was painfully aware of the blush creeping up his own face.

He was about to change the subject, but a loud, firm knock on his door did the trick for him.

"You expecting anyone?" Bianca asked.

Nico shook his head, frowning—and really, who could he possibly expect?—but went to open the door anyway. They'd been way too loud to pretend no one was home anyway.

There on his doorstep, stood Kayla, scowling at Nico, bow in hand with an arrow nocked. Lou Ellen was standing a couple steps behind her, manipulating Mist to cover their presence from any unwanted eyes.

"I'm here to talk to my brother," the daughter of Apollo said.


	10. Chapter 10

"There's really no need for weapons," Nico said. His calm attitude didn't do much to shake her. Maybe she thought he was bluffing, but…well, if it came to blows, three children of Hades could easily overpower Kayla and Lou Ellen. Not that he _hoped_ for a fight. "How did you find me?"

"The goddess of hunters is my aunt. Take a guess."

Nico stared at her in disbelief, but he shrugged. "Fine. So why come here and threaten me?"

"You _lied_ to me. My father told me how ghosts operated. If Will had gone to the other side, you'd know."

"I could just want to spare your feelings."

"I don't think so. Now let me talk to my brother." She pulled on her bowstring a little—not enough to fire, and she didn't aim it at Nico, either, which he took as a good sign.

Nico took a deep breath. "Just—hang on a moment, okay?" Before she could reply, he slammed the door shut.

He wasn't surprised to find Bianca and Hazel gathered within earshot, but he didn't pay attention to them, and turned to Will instead. Judging by his sudden pallor, he'd heard as well, but Nico told him anyway. "Your sister's here. Kayla. She wants to talk to you."

Will remained frozen for a moment, his breathing erratic, before he nodded sharply. "Well, you can let her in. Right?"

"Are you sure?" If Will's moment of panic had been any indication, this was not a good idea. "It won't be easy."

"Other people have been able to see me. Why not her?"

Hazel was the one who answered him. "When mortals see you, it's a manifestation of the Mist. Making sure that nothing looks out of place. It's not an accurate representation of you, not exactly, and it's only meant to fool passersby. With your sister, though, it's much more complicated. If you have even a shred of doubt about seeing her, she won't be able to see you at all, and one of us will have to be your mouthpiece."

"Of course I want to see her! Why wouldn't I—"

"For the same reason you couldn't type that message to her," Nico said. Will looked like he was unraveling—emotionally, but also physically, as if he was losing in solidity. Nico walked the few paces that separated them, carefully reaching out to take Will's hands, and nearly going through him. He didn't move, his hands hovering over Will's. "Will, if you don't think you can handle it, it's fine."

"She's my sister, Nico." Will's voice was soft, his gaze pleading—for understanding and support, or for Nico to convince him to give up? "I can't just turn her away."

Nico understood that, and Will knew it. But his relationship with Bianca or Hazel had been different from Will and Kayla's, from what he'd seen. "You can, if you want to. If you need to."

Will closed his eyes, remaining immobile for a moment, then shook his head. "No, I have to do this. I can't hide from my own sister." He took Nico's hand, the cold, almost liquid sensation of his barely solid touch bringing bittersweet relief to Nico. "We can do this. Together."

Nico nodded. "All right." He didn't let go of Will as he walked back to the door.

When he opened it, Kayla dove straight at him, tackling him inside the apartment. Taken by surprise, Nico fell, letting go of Will, and Kayla landed on top of him, pressing her bow to Nico's throat and a dagger against his side. "Did you really think you could just _close the door_ to make me go?"

She froze and looked up when Hazel's nudged her _spatha_ against her ribs. "I really thought closing the door would send a clear 'hang on, I need to talk about this' message," Nico said, deadpan. "If you don't mind, I don't think we need the Mexican standoff. Can't we talk like civilized adults?"

Kayla huffed, but she put her hands up slowly, dropping her weapons as she stood away from Nico. Lou Ellen was still immobile in the hallway, her gaze fixed on the spot where Will stood. She wasn't looking _at_ him—her eyes were too unfocused for that—but she had to sense him, somehow. If ghosts interacted with the Mist as Hazel had said, Nico guessed a daughter of Hecate could feel it.

"He's here, isn't he?"

Kayla turned to her friend. "Are you sure?"

Will stood right next to Kayla, and at his sister's words, he took in a sharp intake of air, sounding almost like he had just been struck and couldn't contain the pain. His eyes looked like they were tearing up, but he couldn't actually cry.

Nico scrambled to his feet, and walked to stand right behind Will, placing his hands on Will's shoulders. Will tensed up briefly at the contact, but not for long. "He's right here, in front of me. If you want to talk to him."

Kayla didn't say anything, though. She remained still, but she looked at Nico, not at Will. She also looked about to tear up, and Nico wasn't the only one who noticed: Lou Ellen came to stand by her, wrapping an arm around her, and Will reached out, cupping his sister's face. Kayla visibly shuddered at the touch. "I—felt something."

"He just touched you," Bianca said. "People can feel it, sometimes."

She nodded, and wiped the tears from her eyes before looking up again. "Hey, bro."

"Hey, Kay."

There was a moment of awkward silence, then Will turned to Nico. "Can you—?"

Nico started. "Sorry. Of course." He moved to Will's side—it was awkward, standing there with Will between him and the newcomers. "He said 'Hey, Kay'."

Kayla chuckled. "I told you you shouldn't rhyme every time you greet me."

"Can't help the music in me." Will said the words, and Nico repeated, trying to match the sarcasm in his voice.

"You sound just like dad. Please tell me you're not still wearing that awful shirt."

"It's a mark of honor!"

Nico repeated the protest, but he added, "For your information, he's not wearing it. Not anymore, anyway. I forced him to change into something else."

"So you saw him wearing that 'Daddy's favorite haiku' monstrosity? Way to make a good first impression, Will."

"To his defense, I didn't make that good a first impression myself," Nico said.

"I object to that," Will said, and Nico rolled his eyes at him.

Kayla frowned. "What did he say?"

"He objected."

"You _have_ to tell her, Nico."

Nico glared at him, but obeying a ghost's requests was his job—almost automatic. "Fine. I was coming out of the shower. He was taking a peek."

Kayla burst out laughing. "Sorry. But it sounds just like the sort of things Will would do if he was invisible."

"Does it, now?"

"I object to _that_, too."

"You don't get to object to that," Nico said.

"Yeah, you don't," Kayla said. She then looked at Nico once again, examining him with a different glint in her eyes. "So…my brother saw you naked. And—" her voice trailed off, as if she couldn't find the right words.

"Real subtle, Kay," Will said. "You can tell her about us, you know, Nico."

Nico chuckled, and turned to Kayla. "Will and I are dating."

She gasped, and nodded. "Okay. Well, thanks for avoiding me an embarrassing question. And—how do you—I mean, I guess it's normal for you guys."

"It's definitely _not_," Bianca said.

"Oh. Okay. Is this—am I causing trouble for you?"

Nico shook his head. "We're good. We're just figuring it out as we go along."

"_And_ you're teaching me everything you know," Will added, inching closer to him—close enough that Nico could feel his warmth, back to normal levels now that his initial emotions had faded. The proximity, and Will's implications, made him blush.

"Ahem. Anyway. We should probably sit down. You guys have some catching up to do."

* * *

Nico's couches weren't large enough for all of them, so he had to bring a few chairs from the table to seat everyone at once—which was somewhat awkward, with Will taking a spot in the couch, which looked unoccupied to Kayla and Lou Ellen.

To Nico, the strangest thing was how relaxed they all were. These were the first, live demigods Nico met to whom he wasn't related, and it had to be the same for his sisters. Even to Kayla and Lou Ellen, who at least knew each other already, this didn't seem like usual circumstances. And yet, with Will and Kayla's conversation framing the whole encounter, they acted more familiarly to each other than Nico would ever have felt comfortable doing otherwise.

Will told Kayla—through Nico—how he had died, even though she already knew it. He also told her what had happened to him since he had become a ghost, which included an overly enthusiastic—though thankfully not too graphic—description of having sex with Nico. Nico had to censor some of that, but Bianca and Hazel could still hear it, and he doubted they would let that go, possibly forever.

Kayla, meanwhile, explained how she had originally met Lou Ellen by chance, when she was sneaking away from their camp. Neither of them had known that other gods than their parents existed, but they had immediately recognized each other as demigods, and had soon made the easy deductions. When she had gotten Nico's message and left to find him, asking Lou Ellen to come along had felt like the right decision—they both wanted to see more of the world, to meet other demigods.

Their proximity as she spoke, the way Lou Ellen held her hand, made Nico wonder if there was another reason they had come together all the way form California, but he didn't ask. Kayla obviously had her secrets, and it wasn't Nico's business to out her if she didn't want to.

From there, the conversation moved on more randomly. None of them really wanted to talk about training, any more than Nico and Will had before; it felt too private, too big a secret to tell a stranger about it. But they did trade more anecdotal information—the most recurring of which were about poking fun of their godly parents. That, it seemed, was something they all shared: a respect tinged with disappointment. Nico guessed that none of the Olympians were particularly _good_ at their job as parents, which made sense, considering all the myths about them.

Neither of them could help explain the sudden influx of demigods and monsters in New Orleans. They had come because of Nico's message; for all they knew, they might not even be related to the attraction demigods had with the city at the moment. Whatever was happening, Nico doubted they were solving the mystery today.

When, finally, Nico's guests decided to leave, well into the night, it was only with the promise of meeting again some other time—something that exhausted him in advance. Talking for two people was tiring, especially with Will's lack of a filter towards Kayla—Nico was torn between embarrassment and fidelity to Will's exact words.

"That was an eventful night," Will said.

Nico sighed. "Yeah. It was." All Nico wanted now was to sleep it off.

Will's voice stopped him halfway to the bedroom. "You don't want to talk about it?"

Nico turned to him. "Talk about what?"

Will shrugged. "I don't know. My sister. _Your_ sisters. Us. Anything. There's so much going on, and it's all happening so fast. Sometimes I don't understand how I still keep up."

"I'm not even sure I still do," Nico said, smirking. "Look, it all went well, right? My sisters love you, Bianca said she'd support us and I have no doubt Hazel will too. Kayla got around once she got to talk to you. We're good, aren't we?"

Will paused for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah…I guess we are." His grin widened, as if he hadn't realized it yet, and he pulled Nico closer to kiss him.


	11. Chapter 11

The familiar tune of Nico's phone woke him up, far too early in the morning. A new client calling for his help. Right on cue, too—as much as Nico had enjoyed his down time over the past few days, his finances had been threatening to plummet already.

Work picked up again after that, and Nico grew more and more convinced that someone—likely Hades himself, or one of his agents—had redirected his clients to Bianca while he recovered from his near-death experience. He never asked for confirmation, from Bianca or from their dad directly; if Hades had turned a blind eye to Will being left to wander the Earth as a ghost, Nico certainly didn't want to draw his attention. And if he didn't know about Will…Nico didn't want him to.

He settled into a new routine instead, his time split between work, Bianca and Will, since Hazel had already gone back to Europe. And, once every few days, Will's sisters. Kayla and Lou Ellen were still in New Orleans, though they were always dodgy when Nico tried to find out why, and he eventually gave up on finding out. Maybe all Kayla wanted was to be with her brother—and far away from Apollo's camp.

Time passed by, a day turning into a week, then two, then a month, and even the threat of monsters seemed to recede. Perhaps Nico's outlook on it had changed—with the two newcomers, Bianca, and Nico himself, monsters went down much more easily than when he was alone, after all—but he was grateful for the change of pace. There were no new demigods coming, either—at least, none that showed up on Nico's radar.

All in all, things were going well. Which, to Nico, was only a sign that they were about to get worse again. It all started with an innocuous question from Will.

"Do you think I could come with you when you work, next time?"

Nico couldn't help but groan at the sound of Will's voice mentioning work. He'd been snuggling up against Will, nuzzling his neck; had Will remained silent, he would probably have dozed off right there. After two exorcisms the same day, Nico was completely exhausted. "Why would you want to watch me work?"

"It's just. You know. So we can hang out more. When you're not about to pass out from exhaustion. And I'd like to meet other ghosts."

Reluctantly, Nico pushed himself off his boyfriend and looked up at him. Will was grinning, but weakly. In the past month, he'd only ever talked to Nico, or _through_ Nico to his sisters. Nico could understand why he'd want to meet other ghosts he could talk to. "You do realize most of those I deal with are vengeful, right?"

"What about that sweet old grandma who wanted your help talking her granddaughter into getting help for her depression? Or the man whose will you had to sort out?"

"They're outliers. And even they tend to be focused on the one thing keeping them on this side. I'm not sure they'd want to socialize."

"But I'm not focused like that."

"Well, no. What kept you there was your unsolved death—that's why you had a chance to move on when I killed the giant spider."

Will sighed. "Still, I'd—I'd like to try. Maybe I can even help you help them?"

Nico couldn't help but chuckle at his pout. "All right. Doesn't hurt to try."

* * *

The opportunity came on the next day, when he was called for another job. A little boy's spirit that had trouble coping with his passing, and had turned uncontrollably violent. When Nico arrived to the address he'd been given, the house looked like it had just withered a hurricane—something Nico was deeply familiar with after living most of his life in New Orleans—and the ghost was out in the street, his fear and anger causing turmoil around him, like dark winds spreading chaos.

Passersby couldn't know what was going on exactly—to them, this must have looked like random destruction with no discernible cause—but they had cleared the area nonetheless.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Will asked when he saw the carnage. Nico couldn't be sure what he could and couldn't see, but he guessed the scene was worrying no matter what.

"Yeah. _You_ should probably stand back, though."

Without waiting for Will's reply, he walked towards the child. His high-pitched voice was calling out a name, drowned out by the storm he'd caused.

The storm picked up before Nico could reach the ghost, lifting items and debris off the ground and sending them flying haphazardly. Nico dodged and ducked to the best of his ability, still ended up with an alarm clock flying in his stomach and a stuffed cat hitting his face, moments apart from each other, making him fall.

He shook off the dizziness, and scrambled off the ground in the ghost's general direction. He'd barely make one step that he was forced to duck under a flying brick. His momentum sent him rolling on the ground, and when he was back on his feet, he was in the clear. The eye of the storm, with the tiny ghost standing in the middle.

"Hey," Nico said, trying to keep his voice calm in spite of the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He took a tentative step towards the ghost, who turned to face him.

"Cecil?" His voice was hopeful for a moment, but his features betrayed his disappointment when his eyes fell on Nico's face. He opened his mouth again, but couldn't get a word out, and his eyes filled with tears.

Nico closed the distance between them, and knelt in front of the kid, who was now shaking with sobs. "Hey, it'll be okay." He knew better than to tell a dead child not to cry, but he could try to comfort him. "I can help you find Cecil, if you want." The kid perked up at the name, and though he was still crying, he seemed to have quieted down. Around them, the storm was also less violent. "My name's Nico. What's yours?"

"I'm Evan." He made a show of shaking Nico's hand, and a faint smile formed on his lips. "Can you really find Cecil?"

"I can try. Where did you last see him?"

"At home." Evan's eyes flickered to the house behind him—the address Nico'd been given. It was mostly in ruins now. "He went to get me ice cream."

At least there was a chance he hadn't been caught up into this, Nico guessed. "When was that?"

"After breakfast?"

"Okay. And what happened then?"

Evan took in a sharp breath, then sighed deeply. "You won't believe me."

Nico smiled at the boy. "What if I promise you I will?"

Evan considered him for a moment, then nodded. "The Big Bad Wolf came in and ate Mommy and Daddy."

Nico couldn't hide his surprise, though incredulity wasn't the cause of it. There were no wolves in New Orleans. And for Evan to refer to one as the "Big Bad Wolf", it had to be extra scary. A monster, in all likelihood. He wondered if he should materialize his sword now, just in case. "And when was that?"

"I don't know. I got lost, so I went looking for Cecil."

The call Nico had received had been barely twenty minutes ago, from one of Hades' direct informants. That meant the kid had died half an hour ago, at most. The monster should be gone, but Nico wasn't willing to bet on it.

"Everything okay?"

Nico started at the sound of Will's voice. He turned to see that the storm had almost completely quieted down. Will must have thought it was safe to come—after all, he'd come to meet the ghost, not to watch Nico from afar.

Nico nodded. "Yeah. He's looking for…Cecil." Will frowned, and Nico shrugged. He still had no idea who that Cecil was to the boy, but he had no idea how to ask Evan without making him panic again.

"Who's this?" Evan asked.

Nico turned back to the boy, waving Will to come closer. "This is Will. He's my boyfriend. He's—he's been through something like you have. Will, this is Evan."

Evan's eyes widened. "The Big Bad Wolf ate your parents too?"

Will chuckled. "It was more of a Big Bad Spider for me. Nice to meet you, Evan." In spite of his smile, he cast Nico a worried glance—he'd probably understood what 'Big Bad Wolf' meant.

"So, Evan," Nico said. "Do you have any idea where Cecil could have gone to buy you ice cream?"

Evan shrugged. Nico started to think about how to find someone with barely any idea who it was, but before he could come up with a plan, the rubble in front of Evan's house shook. Nico first thought the storm Evan had caused was acting up again, but there was no sign of it elsewhere.

A growl came, and Evan let out a shrill cry. "He's coming back! The Big Bad Wolf!"

Nico glanced at Will. "Stand back. Take Evan with you."

"I could help—it's not like he _needs_ to be watched over."

"I'm not fighting whatever's under there in a storm."

Will was about to argue, but he remained silent for a moment. "Okay. Can you come with me, Evan?"

"What about Nico?"

"He'll take care of the Big Bad Wolf."

Evan hesitated, but he took Will's hand just as the monster emerged from the rubble. It was a wolf, a few times larger than any wolf Nico had heard of, its fur black as night. There was nothing obviously supernatural about it—other than its size—but it exuded an energy Nico had never experienced before. It was a cold sort of aura, reminding Nico of the fear magic some of Ares's creatures possessed, but devoid of the aggression that came from those. It was as if the wolf was telling Nico there was no reason to get worked up at all, that it was no threat, even as it leaped at him.

Nico had dealt with his fair share of mind-altering monsters, though. He dove out of the way, promptly recovering, but not fast enough to strike back at the monster. The beast snarled anyway, in what sounded like frustration, and circled around Nico. Nico kept facing it, sword ready, hoping it wasn't hunting with a pack. Perhaps he should have told Will to call Bianca, or even Kayla and Lou Ellen.

But if the wolf had brethren, they weren't there. It leapt at Nico again, who dodged to the side and slashed at it with his sword. This time, his blade connected, and the wolf yelped as it retreated. It growled again, then its muzzle twitched, and it ran down the street, away from Nico.

Nico ran after it, unwilling to let this monster roam free in the city, but it quickly became apparent to him he wouldn't catch up. The wolf took a sharp turn, and was almost out of Nico's sight when something fell from above it, indistinct from where Nico was, landing right on the giant wolf. The beast yelped and fell down, stopped in its tracks.

Nico kept running, ready to fight whatever the newcomer was, but when he reached the wolf, he found a young man standing on it. Nico could immediately tell he was a demigod: he had the same aura Kayla and Lou Ellen had to him, and the winged sneakers he was wearing were still fluttering. A spear stuck out of the wolf's skull, and he was trying to get it out.

When Nico came closer, he let go of the weapon, pulling out a dagger seemingly out of nowhere and holding it out. "Who are you? Where did your friend take Evan?"

Nico frowned for a moment, before he made the connection. "You're Cecil, aren't you?" He didn't answer, but that was confirmation enough for Nico. "I was trying to help Evan find you when that wolf attacked me."

"So you didn't—" His shoulders slumped as he sighed in relief. "Sorry. I thought you'd brought it with you to kidnap my brother."

Nico couldn't help but chuckle. "I _wish_ I could control monsters. But no, this one's not mine. I don't even know what it is." He paused, noting that Cecil hadn't lowered his dagger. "If you come with me, I'll take you to your brother."

Cecil remained silent for a moment, considering him with the same gaze Evan had had moments ago. Nico could easily see the relation between them in that look, but Evan wasn't a demigod, so they had to be half-brothers. Finally, Cecil put the dagger away. "Can you help me get this back first? It's kind of important. Also, you haven't told me who you were."

"I'm Nico di Angelo. A son of Hades. And you're…a son of Hermes, I assume?"

Cecil nodded. "Son of Hades? That makes sense. I haven't met any of you yet."

"So you've met other demigods?"

"Well…not so much 'met' as 'caught a glimpse of them while carrying messages for my dad'. The Olympians don't let their children meet with other demigods."

Nico nodded. "I'd gathered."

They pulled the spear out together, and it came out with a sickening sound, before the wolf faded away. Even its corpse was different from every monster Nico had fought before, he noticed with a shudder.

They headed back to where Nico had found Evan. "So what are you doing in New Orleans, Cecil?"

"Family vacation. My mom remarried, had another kid. Thanks for keeping Evan safe, by the way."

"About that—" That was the worst part of Nico's job. Dealing with the family members who did not know yet. "We didn't."

Cecil stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean?"

"I came here because of my job. I…help ghosts."

There was a moment of silence, then Cecil nodded sharply. He was biting his lower lip, and his breathing was too regular to be natural. "I knew it. I—haven't seen many ghosts, but I knew something was up with Evan. And that other guy, he's a ghost too, isn't he?"

Nico frowned. He had just realized Cecil had been able to see ghosts, and hadn't even thought to question it.

"My dad's a psychopomp deity, you know? Brings the dead to the River Styx. Ghosts aren't my—thing, but I still have a connection to them."

Nico didn't know that about Hermes, actually, but he nodded. "I'm sorry."

"What about my mom? My stepdad? Do you know if they—"

Nico shook his head. "Evan said the wolf had—I don't think they made it."

"Oh, Gods—" Cecil's voice ended in a strangled cry, but he didn't break down. "I—can I talk to Evan?"

"Of course. I think he wants to talk to you, too."

"Thanks. I—thanks."

* * *

Will had found a good hiding place during the battle. In the end, it was Evan who found them, bursting out of the rubble and rushing for his brother, calling out his name with glee.

Cecil knelt and caught the boy in his arms, and before either of them could speak, he started crying. Evan pulled back from the hug, looking confused, but Cecil only drew him closer.

Silently, Nico grabbed Will's arm and dragged him away. "We should give them some space," he said.

"He's a demigod."

It wasn't a question, but Nico answered anyway. "Yeah. Son of Hermes. I guess that's what attracted the monster."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too." Will sighed. "He must know it as well. I can imagine why he's breaking down like that. I don't know how I'd deal with it."

Nico nodded. "There's something else. This monster, it was…different. It faded when Cecil killed it, instead of turning to dust like they usually do."

"Yeah, I noticed it too. There was something…wrong about it. It was creeping me out. And I don't remember any evil giant wolf in our roster of mythical creatures."

"Oh, we do have wolves." Nico had the scars to prove it. "Just…nothing like this. Not that I know of, anyway."

Will scoffed. "So we have no idea what's going on. What else is new?" He took in Nico's scandalized stare, winked back, and added, "We should focus on the problem at hand first. The new guy. What do we do with him?"

Nico was about to argue that Cecil likely didn't need them, but when he turned to follow Will's gaze, he found the son of Hermes kneeling, alone, crying his heart out. Of his brother, there was no trace left.

Will was the first to reach him, and he crouched beside Cecil, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Nico didn't hear the words he said, but Will's voice was soft and comforting.

"I've got nowhere to go," Cecil said through his sobs.

Nico frowned, and closed the distance between them. "I thought you were here on vacation."

Cecil looked up at him, then sighed. "I lied. We'd moved here. I—I can't see my dad at the moment, and my mom offered to help. And now they're—" His voice was muffled by more sobs, but Nico got the idea.

Nico caught Will's pleading gaze, but he'd already made up his mind anyway. "You can stay with us, for a while, if you want. If you don't mind sleeping on a cheap couch."

"You—you'd do that? But you don't know me."

Nico shrugged. "You're a demigod. We're like—cousins. On some level, anyway." He had no interest in looking at their family tree, not with Will right there. "We've gotta stick together."


	12. Chapter 12

"You're picking up strays, now, Nico?" Bianca's voice was mostly light, but she kept glancing worriedly at Cecil, over on Nico's couch.

As soon as Nico had told his sister about Cecil, she'd shadow-traveled in his apartment and taken him to the kitchen for a private conversation—as private as was possible in Nico's apartment when Bianca was having an outburst. Will was entertaining Cecil, and Nico hoped that would be enough.

"What was I supposed to do, leave him alone and homeless to grieve his family?"

"That's not—it was very noble, and I'm proud of you for that, but you can barely keep up with money as it is—"

"If money was the issue, you'd offer to help," Nico cut her off. "What's _really_ the problem?"

"He's another demigod. The son of another god, too. With Will, Kayla, and Lou Ellen, that makes demigods from three different parents who came here already. Plus the other ghosts you met."

Nico nodded. "And? You found something?"

She shook her head. "I don't know why they keep coming here, though I'm sure there's something. But that's not the problem. Things are getting a little…troubled, in the Underworld. A few of the minor gods think the Olympians are infiltrating one of our home bases on the surface. And I'm not sure Dad doesn't agree with them."

Nico froze. The Olympians had agreed to keep their children separate—even if he had no idea why exactly, he could understand why Hades would see this as an offense. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was hoping it would just blow over. But I don't think it will, especially with another new demigod. Right now, I think the only thing between us and war is that Persephone is forcing everyone to stay calm. But if this keeps going until spring…who knows what'll happen."

"So what do we do? Send him away, and ask Kayla and Lou Ellen to leave as well? Others would probably come anyway."

Bianca nodded. "You're right. But we should find out what is bringing everyone here. Stop new arrivals at least until we can convince the Chthonian gods to quiet down."

"Okay. So…do we just stop all exorcism activity until that's done? Because that might be an issue for me."

"Not if Persephone hires you to investigate."

Nico stared at her for a moment, skeptical, but Bianca's face remained neutral. "You're serious? She's actually offered that?"

"Well, I think her exact wording was to 'make you the Knight-Servant that the Queen of Winter has deserved for so long'. Don't ask—she's been reading this new book series with faeries in it. But yes, essentially, she's told me to make you the job offer. So…will you meet her?"

"Since when are you her spokesperson?"

"I was just around the palace. I'm sure she'd have sent someone else otherwise. Nico…she sounded desperate. And you know that's not something we can say of our stepmother very often."

Her offer was worded in a way that sounded dangerously binding, but if she was desperate, maybe Nico could get a decent deal out of it. "Okay. I'll meet with her. I'm sure it's all arranged already?"

Bianca snickered. "You bet. She was already ordering people around to prepare her greenhouse."

Nico hated the place—and Bianca knew it. "I'll go tomorrow. I guess she wants me to come for lunch?" A purely rhetorical question, but Bianca nodded anyway. "Yeah, definitely tomorrow, then. There's no way I can be ready to meet with her in an hour. And in the meantime, I have a stray to take care of." He turned to look at Will and Cecil, a faint smile growing on his lips when he saw them laughing together. He doubted Cecil was already through the mourning process, but at least Will had managed to get through to him. And Will got someone else who could see him in return—all in all, Nico thought the situation had worked out for the best.

"Bianca," he said as she was about to leave the kitchen, "if they know about the demigods in New Orleans…does that include Will?"

She turned around and smiled at him. "If you're asking me whether Dad knows about you two…yes, he does. I think he's glad you found someone—enough that he won't send someone after Will, at least. Persephone may have had a hand in that, too. She asked me a lot about Will when I talked to her."

Hades knew. And he didn't mind. It was like a weight lifted off Nico's shoulders, one he hadn't even known he was carrying. "Thanks, Bianca."

"I didn't do anything, but you're welcome anyway." She grinned, and left the kitchen, interrupting Will and Cecil's conversation. "Sorry I came in a bit of a rush," Nico heard her say. "I'm Bianca, Nico's sister. Nice to meet you."

* * *

Persephone's offer bore down on Nico's mind all day after that. On one hand, he wouldn't have to work a day-to-day job that barely helped him pay the bills. On the other, he was putting himself in the service of a goddess, with all the restrictions and responsibilities that entailed. This was not the sort of deal where you could forsake reading the small print.

Nico was grateful for Will, who took care of helping Cecil settle in Nico's apartment as best as possible. Which wasn't much, since Nico didn't even have a guest room and Cecil didn't have a lot with him. Cecil had gone back to his house with Will, but they had come back almost empty-handed—the place had been thoroughly trashed. Could just one wolf have done that? It sounded too methodic for a single, isolated monster. But this wolf _had_ been different from everything Nico had seen before.

It was only in the evening that Nico told Will what Bianca had said, about Persephone's offer and the Chthonian gods growing restless. He'd waited that they were in bed; he didn't want to get Cecil involved in this. He barely knew the guy, and certainly not enough to tell him about Underworld politics.

"So am I part of that problem?" Will asked with a concerned pout.

"I don't know the details, but I doubt it. Since my dad knows you're still here, he must be covering it up. Otherwise, the other Underworld gods would wonder why he's letting a ghost roam free." He sighed. "Cecil, though? He probably is. And your sister, too."

"But she won't leave for as long as I'm here."

Nico nodded. "And I'm not sure you could leave New Orleans. Ghosts tend to be bound to a single location; the further you go from here, the place where you died, the less stable you'll be."

Will paused, frowning. "You never told me that."

"It never came up," Nico said, shrugging.

"And what happens if I get less…stable?"

Nico hesitated, unsure Will could deal with this information. But he refused to lie to him. "You'd become the kind of ghost Bianca or I deal with on a regular basis."

Will gaped at him, eyes wide. Then he looked down, frowning again. "Is that why Bianca looked so nervous when I met her? She thought—" He sighed. "You shouldn't have let me stay with you. What if I _hurt_ you?"

"If it ever becomes an issue, trust me, I have all the experience to manage." He reached out to cup Will's face. "I don't want you to go. I knew about the risk; I don't care. I love you." It took him a moment—and Will's startled look—to realize he'd never said those words to Will yet, but he only chuckled. "I'm serious", he added, leaning forward and kissing Will softly.

Before he knew what was going on, Will was kissing back, making Nico roll on his back and settling on top of him. Will's ardor quickly grew, and his tender kissing growing hungry as he ground into Nico's lap. Nico let out a small moan into Will's mouth, but he broke their kiss. "Not with Cecil right out there. He's going to hear us."

Will grinned. "Are you sure we couldn't try to be very, very quiet?"

Nico scoffed, half-teasing. "You tell me. You're the loud one."

"Hmm. You're not wrong." Will briefly glanced down Nico's body, and looked backup at Nico, his eyes glistening with mischief. "But I do want to make you feel good."

Nico rolled his eyes, though Will was already slithering down Nico's body, his hands sliding under Nico's shirt and pushing it up so he could press kisses on Nico's belly. "If this is about what I just said—" His breathing hitched as Will palmed his half-hard cock through the fabric of his briefs. "You don't need to repay the favor or anything."

Will interrupted his kisses, though he hooked a finger under Nico's waistband. "Of course not. I _want_ to."

Nico chuckled, but he sat up before Will could move his plans further along. "At least let me return the favor." Will glanced up, a questioning look in his eyes, and Nico realized he'd never sixty-nined before. "Just—get yourself over here," Nico said, reaching out to grab Will's hips and turn him around. Will was still as malleable under Nico's direction, though there was a nervous tension to him, and he didn't move on his own, even as Nico pressed a few kisses over the bulge in Will's shorts. Nico looked down at him, and found Will staring at Nico with glistening eyes. "Well? Do I need to spell it out for you?" Nico said in a low, teasing voice. But if he was honest, the raw emotion in Will's eyes sent shivers down his spine.

Will startled at Nico's tease. "No, I'm just—I don't know how—I don't want it to be bad for you—"

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Nico said, teasingly hovering his fingers over the silhouette of Will's erection. "It's not that different from anything we've done before."

"Okay." Will took a deep breath, then nodded. "Let's do this."

Nico laughed softly at his boyfriend's antics, but then Will tugged at his briefs, and Nico helped him get them out of the way completely, before working to get rid of Will's underwear as well. Will immediately took him in his mouth, but Nico couldn't help but stare at Will's cock for a moment as it was presented before him, hard and flushed and desirable. And, above all, something about this, about Will being so focused on sucking that he was barely paying attention to his own cock, made him look a little vulnerable. When Nico wrapped his hand around the base of it, Will barely reacted, almost as if he hadn't noticed.

He gave Will's cock a few strokes, taking in the sight of his boyfriend's reflexive twitching and trying to get used to the warmth of Will's mouth around his cock. It had been way too long since Nico had done this, and he felt like it was the first time all over again. Like he was discovering the feeling of Will's tongue on the upper side of his shaft rather than the underside, Will's breath on his balls. He let out another moan, realized the point of this was to make as little noise as possible, and turned his attention back to Will's cock, lowering his head and taking it in his mouth.

Goosebumps traveled up Will's spine at Nico's contact, and his sucking paused, briefly erratic. Nico let out a snicker at that, still with Will's cock in his mouth, and was rewarded with a low, thankfully muffled moan from Will.

Will regained control after that, though he was still squirming under Nico's ministrations. His hips thrusted forward, taking Nico by surprise, and it was only experience that helped him take all of Will down his throat at once. It was only when he heard Will's surprised moan that he realized the movement had bee unconscious as well. He chuckled, swallowing around Will's cock, eliciting a series of whimpers from his boyfriend.

"Nico—I think I'm—"

"Shhh," Nico said, reluctantly pulling away. "It's okay."

He wrapped his lips around Will's cock again, stroking it with his hand as he moved with his head. Will had also gone back to sucking him off, moving with renewed fervor and sending Nico's brain into overdrive—but not fast enough. It took only a few moments for Nico to get Will over the edge, taking him deep down his throat once again and swallowing as Will came.

Surprisingly, his boyfriend managed to stop himself from crying out. Instead, he took Nico deeper as well, almost mimicking Nico's actions, though he didn't manage to take all of his cock in at once. Still, that and the stroke of Will's hand around Nico's base was quickly enough. Nico came breathlessly, his face inches away from Will's still half-hard cock.

For a moment after Nico came down, neither of them moved. Then, finally, Will laughed, softly, trying to make as little noise as possible. "That was—that was amazing." He sat up, looking at Nico with warm eyes.

Nico propped himself up as well, his face inches from Will's. "Yes. It was." He reached out to grab the back of Will's head, and pulled him into a deep kiss, suddenly desperate for _more_. He shifted his body, trying to get as much contact as possible between their skins, but nothing felt like it was enough. It wasn't even about sex—not as he'd just come down from an orgasm. He'd told Will he loved him. Even better, the world—or their relationship—hadn't immediately fallen apart. Now, Nico felt like he shouldn't ever let go of Will.


	13. Chapter 13

They were woken up, late that morning, when the door of Nico's bedroom suddenly opened.

"Hey, I—_oh Gods, I'm so sorry, I—_"

The door slammed shut between Cecil and them, and Nico couldn't help but burst out laughing. His laughter gained in intensity when he glanced at Will. He seemed very focused on the fact that they were naked and hadn't bothered to get under the covers, and a blush was quickly spreading on his face and down his chest.

Nico gave him a quick kiss. "He'll live."

"I'm not sure _I_ will."

Nico bit back a remark pointing out that Will didn't technically have to live with _anything_. "Well, you're gonna have to. I'll have to remind you that you're sitting the apartment while I'm having lunch with my stepmother. And that includes keeping an eye on Cecil."

Nico got dressed as he spoke, and he didn't quite catch Will's answer, though he thought it had something to do with not being able to look Cecil in the eye.

Cecil looked equally mortified and red when Nico came out of the bedroom. "I'm really sorry, I didn't think—I don't really know what I thought. I was just worried, because it's late in the morning and I thought sons of Apollo always woke up early, but—"

"Hey," Nico said, placing his hands on Cecil's shoulders to force him to stand still. "It's okay. There's no harm done." Cecil finally quieted down, and Nico let go of him. "I'll be leaving until…probably way into the afternoon, but Will's staying, so if you need anything, ask him. Though—try to make sure he's dressed this time." He hadn't been able to stop himself from teasing Cecil, and the boy's blush deepened. "Try to—I don't know, figure out what you're going to do with your life, okay? You shouldn't dwell on what happened yesterday too much."

* * *

If he was honest, Nico felt a _little_ guilty leaving Will and Cecil alone in his apartment. Between the grieving, confusion, and embarrassment, he almost wished he had a camera to see how the day would go down for them.

However, having to have lunch in Persephone's greenhouse eased that guilt a little bit. The place was a small extension of the Underworld on Earth—like the entrance that led to Charon's boat and the River Styx. That meant the Queen of the Underworld could come here, even in the fall and winter, when she was supposed to stay in the Underworld proper. The only restriction was that her mother Demeter could not enter it. From what Nico had gathered, Persephone herself had insisted on that—though she'd forced Hades to make the suggestion himself, "for the sake of fairness".

Though the greenhouse's roof was made entirely of glass panes, Persephone didn't actually grow any plants in here—not the regular way, at least. The flowers in the greenhouse were entirely the product of Persephone's divine magic, bustling with more colors, shapes and scents that was entirely natural. A lot of those were poisonous, Nico knew; for some, just a touch could already induce sickness or paralysis. Persephone took her dual nature very seriously.

Nico entered the building, immediately facing a veritable jungle of vines, tall flowers, and small bushes. He slid between them, taking care to touch the plants as little as he could, and wishing he could just summon his sword and hack at them. He doubted that would please his stepmother, though.

Finally, he reached the center of the greenhouse. An area had been cleared from the overgrowth there, and all that remained was a table and benches. Nico remembered how proud Persephone had been to tell him that all the furniture in the greenhouse was made from limestone imported directly from the Stone Forest, in China. Her grin had scared him more than most monsters he'd faced before—or since.

There was no one yet, but Nico expected Persephone to want to make an entrance, so he sat down and waited.

He was wrong, as it turned out. When Persephone appeared from the opposite end of the greenhouse, she made no pompous entrance. She was dressed to impress, that much was certain: her vaporous, lilac dress was cut to look like petals of a flower draped over Persephone's body; a golden net was wrapped around her hair, dark as fertile soil; and the staff and cornucopia she held thrummed with power. But her eyes were too worried to be a mask of divine serenity, and her pace was businesslike, though not inelegant.

"Thank you for meeting with me," she said, sitting down on the bench across from Nico. She waved, and dryads emerged from the vegetation to Nico's side, carrying platters of food—fruit and pastries, mostly—that they laid on the table between them.

"What Bianca said made me curious." Nico couldn't help but feel worried about Persephone's attitude. Persephone's relationship with her stepchildren had been complicated at first—they were, after all, the fruit of infidelity. It had taken years for her to manage meeting Nico without turning him into some kind of cereal, and a few more for them to have a decent conversation. "Is everything all right?"

"You already know that it is not. There's no time to play pretend; the Underworld's royal family needs to unite." Nico frowned at her words—she may have grown to tolerate, perhaps even like Nico and his sisters, but she had never called them _family_ before. "Chthonian gods feel threatened by the Olympian demigods in our stronghold."

"Most of them are dead, though."

"Yes, but their coming at all is an offense."

"So you don't know what brought them to New Orleans either, then?"

Persephone shook her head. "That's what worries me the most. Few gods could act in such a surreptitious way."

"Well, that's good, isn't it? It limits the number of suspects."

"Unless it's a god so obscure we can't even consider them a suspect."

Nico paused. "So where do I come in? If you can't detect the, what can _I_ do?"

"What we gods can't. Talk to the demigods. Investigate. Perhaps find out what that giant wolf was." Nico gasped in surprise, and Persephone had a small grin. "I have my eyes and ears in the city. And even if I didn't, the victims came straight to us."

"So you don't know what that was, either?"

"I have an idea…but it's not one you'll like. I'd rather make sure with Hazel first. She'll tell you when we reach a conclusion."

Nico frowned. What could Hazel know about this? "All right, so I just investigate with the demigods until you and Hazel find something about the wolf. How do I do that?"

"Well, from what I gathered, you're already doing really well. One lives with you, and you befriended the other two living demigods. And of course, there's your lover." She smiled softly. "And since we're talking about him, I'm really happy for you, Nico."

"I'm pretty sure you shouldn't, since he's a ghost."

Persephone chuckled. "Well, you _are_ the Ghost Prince. It makes sense, doesn't it?"

Nico felt himself blushing. "I should really let go of that nickname."

"It suits you so well, though!"

"Can we come back to—"

"All right. I just wanted you to know that you had my support—and your father's. So, as I said, you've already established contact with the demigods."

Nico nodded. "Yes, but I also tried to find out why they came to New Orleans, and I didn't find anything in common."

"Perhaps you didn't dig deep enough? How could you, when you're stressed all the time about making a living."

Nico immediately raised his guard. "Yeah. Your proposal."

Persephone nodded. "I want you to be my knight-servant. A fancy title for nothing, really."

"I'd like to know what that 'nothing' is."

"What you should have had all along. Your father thinks his children should earn their own place in the world, but I've advocated for years that you should receive an income from us, just like your sisters."

Nico scoffed. "You're offering me charity? How generous. What makes you think I want it?"

"I thought you might refuse. Which is why my offer will only last for as long as you're investigating, in my name, to make sense of this mess." She leaned over the table. "Let me make this clear: I _won't_ have a war between the Underworld and Olympus. Not only because I care about people on both sides, but because it would _ruin_ us all. So take my offer now, Nico, because I won't suffer your pride trumping your practical sense on this matter."

There she was: the goddess that had scared Nico for years. He'd be foolish to pretend otherwise. "The moment this is over, I return to my regular job."

"If that's still what you want, then I'll concede to that. But you'll still have my support for whatever you do. You deserve more success than you've received, Nico."

"That's a discussion for some other time." Honestly, Nico just wanted to leave this place as soon as he could. "So all I have to agree to is investigate the reason why demigods are coming to New Orleans?"

"Nothing more. Unless you want to. Then we can renegotiate our terms."

"Sounds straightforward enough." Nico sighed. "All right, I'll take your deal. Can I go now?"

Persephone chuckled. "Yes. But there's one last thing you might want to know—" Nico froze at her tone. "We're closing an eye about your boyfriend. This means that, should it ever become necessary, a regular exorcism won't be enough to get him to the Underworld. It would mean admitting we bent the rules for you."

Nico frowned. "What are you saying?"

"If you ever need to send Will to the Underworld—you'll have to find a method on your own. None of the regular ways would work. It's that, or obliterate him completely."

A shiver ran down Nico's spine, but he didn't say anything. He just got up and left.

* * *

He came home to find Will and Cecil, laughing on his couch. They had dug up Nico's old Playstation—Nico didn't even know he still had that—and were racing off in a _Crash Team Racing_ tournament.

The moment Will noticed Nico, however, he dropped his controller. In a few quick strides, he came across the living room, taking Nico in his arms. "Everything okay?" he said softly.

"Yeah, I—I took Persephone's offer. I'm going to try to find out what's going on in this city."

Will backed away just enough to stare at Nico in the eye. "That's not what I mean. You're white as a sheet. Did something happen?"

"No, nothing happened. She just said a few things—about you." Nico glanced over Will's shoulder at Cecil. He wasn't sure he should tell Will what Persephone had told him, but he definitely didn't feel comfortable telling him in front of Cecil. So he chose to keep quiet—for now, at least. "But it won't happen. I'll make sure of it."

Will's eyebrows twitched into a half-frown, but he nodded. "Okay."

Nico looked up at him, hating the look of worry on his face. He leaned forward, catching Will's lips with his own, kissing to express what he didn't manage with words. "I'm glad I'm home," he said when they pulled apart, forcing a smile. "Mind if I play with you?"

Will grinned back. "Only if I get to kick your ass."


	14. Chapter 14

The problem with taking Persephone's offer was, Nico had no idea how to lead an investigation. That, and there wasn't much going on in New Orleans all of a sudden. Even ghosts were rarer than usual, and the few Nico and Bianca dealt with weren't demigods.

Weeks passed, then over a month, and Nico did was staying in touch with the demigods who _were_ in town. Cecil was hard to avoid at all, since he lived with Nico. Kayla dropped by almost daily to talk to Will—and her reaction to meeting Cecil was about on par with meeting Nico and his sisters. Lou Ellen was the most elusive of the three, when she wasn't sticking by Kayla's side; but Hazel assured Nico that the two of them were more in touch—Nico could easily guess why, since their powers were more similar.

Nico was pretty sure he could count all of them as _friends_ now, but there was still an uneasiness between them all. The death of Kayla and Cecil's brothers was part of that, but it wasn't all of it; some had to do with Nico investigating them and feeling like he couldn't relax, but he was also fairly certain a part of it was them being descended from different gods. Throughout the years, Nico hadn't really questioned that the gods remained apart from one another. He wondered if the tension between them was related to that isolation—and if so, was it a cause or a consequence of it? It would explain the unrest caused by demigods' arrival in New Orleans.

It was little more than speculation, but it was the most Nico had. Still, Persephone didn't seem to mind the lack of results, although Nico guessed that had more to do with the sudden quiet. And, well, perhaps she was happy to keep Nico in her employ for a while longer. For a few days, Nico entertained the idea that this was all _her_ crazy scheme to force Nico's hand, but he dismissed it; Persephone, while she was capable of being cold—especially towards her husband's illegitimate children—wouldn't be cruel enough as to cause deaths as she had for something she could have offered Nico first. Could she? Nico wasn't sure it was reasonable to put _anything_ past one of the gods, but he still didn't see it.

So Nico bid his time. And he had to admit, the quiet was nice for very selfish reasons. His relationship with Will had started in drama—almost dying counted—and they hadn't really had a moment to catch their breaths since then, figuratively speaking. Cecil's presence came with a lack of privacy, but in the grand scheme of things, having to deal with a roommate felt like such a normal relationship problem that Nico was thankful for it at times. Normalcy was what he needed, especially after Persephone's warning regarding Will.

He hadn't told Will anything about it so far. He wasn't sure why—in fact, he knew it was a mistake not to tell him, if only for the sake of honesty—but he couldn't bring himself to explain that Will may well be trapped among the living forever. Especially because he had no idea how to explain to Will why this was bad, regardless of how long Will managed to avoid becoming a harmful ghost.

Besides, it was hard to bring up anything that could bring down the mood. Bianca had said they were in the honeymoon phase, but to Nico, it had only really started once the monsters stopped showing up. He and Will could finally forget that Will was a ghost and just _be_ together. They were in love, in a way Nico hadn't been in so long and Will had never been, and they were high off of that and each other.

Nico wouldn't have let go of that for anything.

* * *

The first lead came completely by chance—which had been Nico's hope all along. A month and a half after Nico took Persephone's offer, Kayla had come over and stayed as evening turned into night. Will had managed to be corporeal enough around his sister to drink with her—which confused Nico, since she couldn't see him beyond the beer bottles in his hand. Cecil had joined the festivities and offered to relay Nico as Will's interpret, which turned out to be a small mercy when all three of them started being tipsy and the slurring began.

Nico had mostly tuned them out as he mindlessly browsed the Internet, when an exchange caught his attention.

"You know what's crazy? Me coming here." It was Kayla, laughing at her words as if they were some obscure joke. "I mean, I'd never left camp since I was a kid. And suddenly I'm crossing the country—for revenge! How stupid is that?"

"Right?" Cecil replied. "We moved here because I blew up like my dad about—fuck, I don't even _remember_ what it was." His smile died on his lips. "_Not_ worth it."

Nico perked up at that—Cecil had never said a word about why he couldn't see Hermes anymore. "You blew up at him?"

"Yeah, I got angry because—" He paused, frowning. "I think it was about Mom? How much he'd fucked her over? I mean, she got remarried and had Evan, but she still wasn't over him. And he wouldn't even see her, even when he came to see me at her home."

"At least he let you stay with her," Will pointed out.

Nico held up his hand, silencing him. He wasn't interested in them trying to out-sob story each other, especially while drunk. "Was that a new thing? You being angry at your dad, I mean?"

Cecil's gaze remained vacant for a moment before he nodded. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, it's always been _there_, you know, but I was okay about it before."

"And it all went really fast after that, didn't it? The move, I mean? All in a few days?" Cecil nodded. "So you came here because of an impulse decision made in anger." It wasn't really a question, but Cecil nodded again. Kayla did too, even though Nico wasn't really asking her. He turned to her anyway. "Do you know what pushed Lou Ellen?"

"She came for me. We're kind of dating, you know."

Next to her, Will let out a loud gasp, and Nico let him berate his sister for not telling him. He had a theory now. All he needed was a way to confirm it.

* * *

It wouldn't have done to show up to Kayla and Lou Ellen's hotel room in the middle of the night, so Nico had to wait until the next day—and hope that she would be willing to answer to him at all. Nico wasn't sure he would have gotten information out of Kayla or Cecil if not for the alcohol in their system, after all.

He went early in the morning, while Kayla was still out on their couch, Will cuddled against her even though she probably couldn't feel it. Hopefully Lou Ellen was a morning person, because Nico didn't want to talk to her in front of anyone if he could avoid it.

At least she was awake, since she opened her door. On the other hand, she didn't seem happy to see him. "The hell do _you_ want?"

"Good morning to you too," Nico retorted without missing a beat. They were dating siblings, didn't that technically make them family of some kind? She could be nicer to him. Especially since she had no trouble being nice to Hazel. "Mind if I come in?"

"Kind of, actually."

"Okay, we can do this here too. Is there any reason you came here? In a hurry, maybe, because you'd done something really—impulsive? In anger, maybe?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And I should tell you because—?"

"I'm trying to figure out who worked so hard to get demigods in a Hades stronghold and stir up chaos." Better the truth, he guessed. She would probably figure it out if he lied.

"I just followed Kayla. I'm not very impulsive myself."

Nico sighed. "Okay. How did you know you should follow Kayla?"

"She told me. We're girlfriends. Wouldn't you—well, I guess you _can't_ follow him, since he's more or less stuck around here. But if your boyfriend was alive, you'd follow him if he needed to go somewhere, wouldn't you?"

"Fair enough." Nico couldn't help but wince at her words regarding his and Will's relationship—accurate as they were. "So…how did you two get together? Kayla said you're the one who told her about the other gods, so I guess you found her?"

Lou Ellen sighed. "You're not going to give it up until you have an answer, right?" She finally stepped back from the door and opened it wider, letting Nico in.

"It could be important." Nico didn't mention Persephone as he came in—he had no idea what Lou Ellen's relationship with her mom was, and Hecate and Persephone were supposed to be allies.

Lou Ellen sat on the bed, waving at the sole chair in the hotel room for Nico to sit on. "You're right. I found Kayla. Well, it'd be more accurate to say that I found their camp, and then she found me. She's kind of a good tracker."

"I got to see that for myself," Nico said, remembering how she'd first shown up at his own door without notice. "Were you looking for the Apollo camp?"

She nodded. "I wanted to prove to my mother that I could do it. Pierce the Mist surrounding another Olympian stronghold. And I picked Apollo because I knew he didn't tell his kids about the rest of us. I think—I justified it to myself as a strategic decision, but really, I think I just wanted to piss everyone off by blowing the whole story to Apollo's kids."

"But–you didn't," Nico pointed out. "I mean, you told Kayla, but not the others."

"Yeah." She shrugged. "I don't know. When I got through the Mist barrier, it didn't sound as fun anymore."

"Do you think Kayla felt the same once she got here? About her revenge?"

"Well, you did take care of that, so there was no point anymore, was there?"

Nico nodded, but he wondered if there wasn't more to it. He doubted he would be fine with just being _told_ that Bianca or Hazel's murderer was dead. And there was Cecil, too, who sounded a lot less vehement about his issues with his father—maybe losing his mom and stepdad had an influence too, but it was a pattern.

"Does that help?"

Nico nodded. "I think so. It's all about—anger, I think. Or something similar. And whoever's responsible, their powers can't make it through the Mist barriers surrounding most of our strongholds."

"Except Kayla was at home when you contacted her."

"But she met you outside of her camp, right?"

Lou Ellen paused, cocking her head to the side. "Yeah."

"And that's when she decided to rush here?"

"I—don't really remember. She wanted to go the whole time, but maybe she did rush her decision? It's hard to be sure."

"I know. That's the issue—whoever is plotting all this is subtle." Which ruled Ares out—too bad, he would have been a perfect suspect, especially since war was the end goal. "I have to confirm this."

"With whom? Do you know any other demigods in town?"

"Not at the moment, but I _knew_ a few." Taking in her confused stare, he added, "I have a few séances to organize."

* * *

Calling ghosts was never a fun process. Calling three in a row—Nico had opted for that rather than all at once—was downright the worst thing that Nico had had to go through. Well, maybe almost dying took the cake. _Maybe_. Nico wasn't entirely sure he wasn't almost dead by the time he'd sent the last of them back to the Underworld.

The pattern fit, though. All three ghosts Nico knew of had come here on an impulse, and they'd lost that drive once they were here. The only flaw in Nico's theory was that only one of them was _angry_. One of the other two had come with a similar purpose as Lou Ellen going to the Apollo camp, to stir trouble, but he'd only meant it as a prank—or so he claimed. The third had come running from a bad relationship—she had held no anger, only fear and sorrow.

And there was Will, too, leaving after seeing what his father had caused his mother to become. He had sounded angry at his father, but mostly aimless and confused. Maybe the anger was just a catalyst of some kind for something else?

It was wonky at best, but there was still a common thread. All Nico needed was to find what exactly it was. It felt obvious, like Nico shouldn't miss it—and yet, here he was, missing it.

He was busy looking up Greek gods online to see if any of them struck him as a possible culprit when the doorbell rang. Cecil and Will had been out in the town, and they had a key, so Nico wasn't sure who it could be. Curious, he went to open the door—only to find Hazel here.

"I have a lead," she said, "as promised. But you're not going to like it."

"I'll take anything at this point."

She shook her head, dubious, but continued anyway. "How familiar are you with…_other_ mythologies?"


	15. Chapter 15

"Norse creatures?" If the past few months hadn't happened, this new information could have been too much for Nico to take. As it was, it still felt like a lot to process. "So the Olympians aren't the only gods around?"

Hazel nodded insistently. "I know it sounds crazy, but—"

"No, it actually makes perfect sense. It's just…more than I feel ready to deal with." He slumped on one of his couches, and Hazel sat beside him with about as little grace.

"I know the feeling. We thought we were trying to avoid a civil war, and now we have _other_ gods to deal with."

Nico didn't like that she'd voiced his own fear—it felt more real now that she had. So he remained silent, unable to find something to say. What _was_ there to say?

"There's actually some good news," Hazel said after a silent moment.

"Is that even still possible?" Nico retorted, side-eyeing her.

"The wolf you fought is a descendent of Fenrir. The wolf who'll start the end of the world in Norse mythology."

"And that's good news…how?"

"They're not affiliated to anyone. And I've done some digging—none of the Norse gods would have used them, from any of their factions. They're all pretty afraid of messing with Fenrir in any way, because it might trigger Ragnarök, and…well, then they'll all die."

"Along with the rest of us. And I don't know _much_ about Norse mythology, but I'm pretty sure they get better."

"Our monsters reform after a while. It doesn't make them any more keen to die."

Nico sighed, giving up on the argument. "So what's your point? If it's not one of the Norse gods, then who?"

"One of ours, most likely. Throw in an unknown creature, and everyone starts being afraid. Starts pointing fingers."

"So we're still on civil war as our explanation?"

"Pretty much."

"But—if that's the case, didn't we more or less stop that by becoming friends? A civil war between gods would have to start with us fighting each other, right? That's how it goes."

Hazel frowned at him. "You know, I'm not the one who inherited our dad's keen eye for judgment. You shouldn't ask me."

Nico stared at her in confusion. "But Bianca didn't—" He paused at her smug grin. "Please. _I_ didn't inherit the instinct for godly justice." Hazel only raised an eyebrow, still silent; Nico scoffed at her. "So what, we should trust _my_ instinct? Because so far you're the only one who's made real progress."

"Is that why you've been summoning ghosts in here?" Hazel chuckled. "Come on. I'm not the best with the death powers, either, but I can still sense when you call multiple ghosts from the other side. What were you looking for?"

"A pattern," Nico said, trying to remain neutral. "In what brought all those other demigods to New Orleans."

"And—?"

"And I have a theory at best. They all came as a result of snap decisions. Most in anger, but not all. One was just trying to reveal the existence of other gods to his siblings as a prank. One was escaping a bad relationship."

"Well, it's not _anger_, but it's still pretty close, right?"

"Right. But unless we can figure out what it is, knowing there's something in common doesn't help much. We're not finding out who's plotting all of this at this rate."

Hazel shrugged. "You know what you need? Some rest. Take a break, sleep on everything we found out. I'll do the same. And in the morning—who knows, maybe we'll have it all figured out." She rose to her feet as she said that, stretching casually. "We'll do it, Nico. I'm sure of it."

Nico wished he had her confidence, but he guessed rest was as good an idea as any, at this point. Hazel could show herself out; Nico lay down over the couch and closed his eyes.

* * *

He woke up startled by Cecil and Will's return, in the evening. Or so he thought—when his heart rate slowed and his senses cleared up, he realized it was just Will, humming to himself in a low voice. When Will caught sight of Nico, his face lit up with a bright smile.

"Hi! How are y—were you _sleeping_?"

"Um," Nico said, looking down at his rumpled clothes. He could feel his hair sticking out in a massive bedhead, too; it would be a miracle if the couch hadn't left a mark on his face as well. No point in denying it, then. "I may have taken Hazel's advice too literally."

"Well…does that mean you're well-rested and full of energy now?" Will smirked as he closed the distance between them, and wrapped his arms around Nico's waist.

"Shouldn't you tell me where Cecil is first?"

"He's on a date."

Nico frowned at him. "On a _what_?"

"A date. He met someone last week, and they're spending the evening together. He's been here for months, I don't know why you're so surprised that he found someone."

"It's just—he didn't tell me anything."

Will shrugged. "He didn't tell me anything, either. I just found out because he forgot about it until the last second, so he had to tell me why he was ditching me."

Nico wasn't convinced by that explanation, but he decided to let it slide and focus on what mattered. "So what you're saying is…we have the apartment to ourselves all night?"

"Oh yes."

"Then the question is, Will: why do you still have clothes on?"

* * *

There were few things that ruined an afterglow better than a sudden string of thoughts about the doomed aspect of one's relationship, so of course that's what Nico's brain decided to busy itself with the moment he came down from the high of orgasm. And Will—wonderful, attentive Will—noticed immediately, meaning Nico couldn't try to just move past it.

"Something's bothering you," Will said, absently tracing across Nico's chest with the tip of his fingers.

"Kind of," Nico replied. Part of him hoped Will would drop it, then another part of him felt bad for even trying to hide this from his boyfriend. "It's just—all these breakthroughs in the investigation, they reminded me of my meeting with Persephone."

"I thought it had gone well."

"It did, but…" Nico forced himself to sit up, to instill some seriousness between them. He doubted it would change Will's reaction, but it was the least he could do. "She told me something about you."

"I thought you said she was okay with us," Will said, the hint of a frown forming on his face.

"She is, she—it had nothing to do with that. She—" Nico breathed deeply. "I can't exorcise you. I mean, none of us can."

"This again? Nico, I'm not—"

"Going to turn into a vengeful spirit? Eternity's a pretty long time to be certain of that. What about—" Nico's voice broke off, unable to complete his thought.

Will raised an eyebrow. "What about _what_?"

"What if we break up? Or what if we don't, and _I_ die? I'm still mortal. What then?"

Nico was amazed at how much control Will retained over his own features: his eyes widened slightly as he realized what Nico meant by 'eternity', but that was all he gave away. But then, to Nico's surprise, he shook his head.

"I'll figure it out. Me, and…whoever else is there. I'll ask the gods if I have to."

"The gods are the reason _why_ I couldn't exorcise you. If the Olympians learn Hades and Persephone have let you roam free as a ghost, whoever's trying to cause a civil war between the gods will get exactly what they want."

"So I—what's that about someone causing a civil war?"

Nico shook his head. "I'll explain later—it's just a hypothesis. The point is—"

"I can ask Cecil, then. His dad carries the dead to the afterlife, maybe he can. Or one of his siblings. _I'll figure it out, Nico_."

"You don't know that."

"I know it doesn't matter for now," Will said, reaching out at last. Nico shivered where Will's hand brushed his skin, barely material at the moment—yet another hint of how truly upset Will was—but he leaned into the touch anyway. "I know that I'll do everything I can. I know I love you."

Will pulled Nico's head back against his chest, and Nico buried his face against Will's skin, sighing deeply. "I know that. And I love you. That's _why_ I'm worried. I don't want you to become—like one of _them_."

Nico felt Will's hand in his hair, and he tuned out the world, barely registering Will's litany of 'I'll figure it out' and 'I love you'.


End file.
